TVC:Book 03:The Crime of All Time
by VoyagersFan
Summary: Bogg and Jeff take on Drake as he is once again up to his old tricks. Only this time, he's not fooling around! He's pulled out all the stops and it's time and the entire Voyager race that's at stake. Sequel to Tastes of Freedom. Revised 05/2009
1. Forward

_**VOYAGERS!**_

**The Voyager Chronicles – Book 3 **

**THE CRIME OF ALL TIME**

**By Dennis A. Daugherty**

DISCLAIMER: Voyagers!, and it's associated characters are registered trademarks of Scholastic Productions, James D. Parriott Productions and Universal-MCA Entertainment. This story is written and provided for entertainment purposes ONLY. No copyright infringement is intended by the author.

**FORWARD**

As you read this, it has been some two days since I put the final touches on the last chapter of this story. To finally finish this roller-coaster ride was in itself a blessing. Mind you, I'm not saying this to imply that I'm tired of writing or bored with the subject matter. Hopefully, that will never happen. This story was fun to imagine and easy to outline. However, after developing a bad case of writer's block, it became a definite chore to put to paper. Unlike my first two installments, the words just did not flow as easily on this one. At one point, I got so frustrated; I just put it aside and didn't look at it for weeks. When the moment finally came and I got back to it, I began writing two and three chapters in one sitting. There's one thing I have learned from this experience. Writing is as much an art form as any other. Like the Renaissance Masters of long ago, you cannot paint a great masterpiece if your heart is not in it. Likewise you can't write a good story, if you are trying to force the words to come out.

Those of you who have read my previous stories know, I am very fond of the characters Bogg and Jeffrey and their father/son like relationship. Whenever possible, I try my best to explore the bonds between them, as well as push them to their breaking point in an attempt to further define their characters. This story is no exception. There are several poignant moments and tear-jerking scenes in this adventure which further emphasizes this. If you can believe it, some of these passages quite literally brought tears to my own eyes as I wrote them. My only advice to you, the reader is to have a box of tissues handy before you begin.

In closing, as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the premier of the series, I too have cause for celebration as well. With this story, I have reached a milestone of sorts. Some year and a half ago, (my has it been that long?) I began writing my first Voyagers! story, thanks to the impressive work of another author on this site. Never in my wildest dreams, would I have ever imagined to be able to finish even that one story, let alone three of them. It has been the keen interest of my readers and your thoughtful reviews which have kept this ball rolling for me. My sincerest thanks to all of you. For now though, I am going to put aside my pen, rest a spell and let the rest of you have a go at it. For those of you who are wondering about the future, rest assured the further adventures of Bogg and Jeff (aka, The Voyager Chronicles) will resume again after a brief pause. Until next time… May all your landings be soft ones!

DA Daugherty

(VoyagersFan)


	2. The Renegade Returns

********

_VOYAGERS!_ - The Voyager Chronicles  
THE CRIME OF ALL TIME - BOOK 3  
(Sequel to Tastes of Freedom)  
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
October 2007 (Revised 05/2009)  
Previous disclaimers apply

**Chapter 1 – THE RENEGADE RETURNS**

_Paradox (n) (pear'-uh-docks) A group of renegade Voyagers who have renounced all ties and allegiances to their race and whose goal is to do whatever it takes to further their own corrupt interests._

Inside an abandoned warehouse located not far from Voyager Headquarters, a clandestine meeting of epic proportions was about to take place. Those slated to be in attendance would include some of the more dubious elements of the Voyager underground. Unbeknownst to those of the outside world, the events which were about to unfold at this gathering would spawn one of the most evil and convoluted schemes ever to be undertaken in the history of the planet.

The room was dimly lit. The air was thick and heavy as it possessed that distinctive musty odor indicative of a lack of movement over a period of years. A beam of sunlight pierced the many layers of dirt on a lone pane of a solitary window and left an eerie image as it struck the floor. A few empty crates and cardboard boxes were stacked haphazardly in the back corner of the room. A long, rickety table with crooked legs sat in the center of the room and was surrounded by chairs of various sizes. Except for the squeaking of several nearby rodents anxiously searching for their afternoon meal, the silence in the room was deafening. However, this was soon about to change.

As the start of the meeting drew nearer, members of the group began to arrive. One by one they calmly walked into the room and took a seat at the table. While waiting patiently for the remainder of the group to follow suit, low whispers could be heard as they conversed amongst themselves.

After several minutes, the remaining members finally arrived. They hurried into the room much as if they were late to class. Following closely behind them was their leader, Jake Evans and his long-time friend and assistant Shawn Mallory. They bid a quick good afternoon to the group and then took their seats at the table.

"Fellow Voyagers and members of Paradox, shall we begin?" Evans asked as he shuffled some papers in front of him.

At this point, the whispering stopped.

"Does anyone have any news to bring to the table?"

Mallory looked up and confidently replied. "Yes sir, I do!"

Shawn Mallory was Evans' most recent, yet not the most accepted addition to the group. A brash, young man in his early twenties, Mallory was a highly trained computer technician and electronics expert employed by Voyager Technical. Like most young men in the early years of adulthood, he was presumptuous, impulsive and had very little respect for his elders. It was these traits which had caused his unpopularity with the more seasoned members of the group.

"Mr. Mallory…please…by all means…enlighten us." Evans replied.

"Well, I've heard that Voyager technical is currently in the midst of developing a new omnichron. Supposedly, it will be the most advanced model to date."

"A new omnichron? Come on now!" Max replied. "You call that news? Voyager Technical is always inventing something or other.

Max was a middle-aged ex-Voyager whose facial features closely resembled those of the late actor John Wayne. He had been with Paradox since its initial inception.

Another member jumped into the conversation. Known to the group as "Doc", he was a seasoned Voyager whose past actions had caused him to become a wanted fugitive on the run from his people. A burley sort of rogue, with long, untamed hair and a gruff tone; he raised his eyes and looked over at Max from across the table.

"Huh! You said it! Every time they come up with some new gadget, they always say it's 'the most advanced gadget since the discovery of time travel'." Doc said sarcastically.

Turning his attention toward the young Mallory, Doc began to chastise the young technician.

"Kid, you may think that's news…but, I can tell you boy…it's not. It just more of their confounded rhetoric and being young and wet behind the ears, you have fallen for it."

"Yes it's news and important news at that." Mallory replied as he stood his ground.

"Why would the higher-ups at VHQ want to keep this so hush-hush if it wasn't going to be a groundbreaking invention? For what purpose? Hmmm? From what I have been told, it WILL be state of the art and include features which have never been available before."

"Can you explain further, Mr. Mallory?" Evans asked.

"My information is sketchy at this point. The only other thing I know is they are calling it the ACS100." Mallory replied somewhat unprepared for the question.

"I knew it, I just knew it!" Doc exclaimed. "As I said, it's more rhetoric and politics from the powers that be."

"Mr. Mallory with all of your connections at VT, I can't believe you are unable to find out more about this project." Ian said pointedly.

Mallory peered across the table at the two and responded curtly.

"Much of what is known about it is being kept secret and is on a need to know basis. The details are only given to those who are directly involved in the project."

Doc, now extremely disturbed by Mallory's lack of information, jumped to his feet and pointed at the young technician.

"Evans, what good is it to have this kid on the inside if he can't even find out information about a project such as this?" He exclaimed.

Mallory jumped to his feet, infuriated with Doc and his implications. He scowled and commenced to retaliate.

"Well grandpa, if you think you can do any better, then by all means come to VT and have a snoop around. You won't last ten minutes before security has you under arrest."

Mallory's words took an apparent bite out of Doc. He raised his voice once again to the young lad.

"Grandpa!" Doc bellowed. "Kid, I'm not your grandpa and if I was, I would have taught you some respect a long time ago."

Evans knew it was now time for him to step in and put a stop to this once and for all. Under no circumstances was he going to allow Doc to bully his newest recruit. As he rose from his seat, he leaned forward and put his arms between the two in an attempt to separate them.

"Gentlemen, please…" Evans pleaded.

As he turned his attention to Doc, his face took on a stern look. Upon making eye contact, he began to reprimand him harshly.

"Ok, Doc! THAT will be enough OF THAT! You've made your point. Besides, he's our only inside contact at Voyager Technical. He's doing the best job that he can do considering the environment he is working in. So sit down and lay off of him!"

Doc, sensing he had been both outmatched and outgunned began to slowly return to his seat, muttering obscenities under his breath.

Evans turned his attention back to his assistant and began to reassure him.

"Mallory…pay no attention to Doc. He always seems to have some bee in his bonnet. You keep your ears open for any new developments on this project. No one else here may be interested in this, but I assure you I am."

"Sure sir… I'll keep my ears open and report back to you." Mallory said calmly as he sat back down.

As Evans once again returned to his seat, Doc just had to get in one last jab.

"If you are waiting for this kid to give you more information, I wouldn't hold my breath. 'Cause if you do, we might have to pick you up off the floor."

Upon hearing this bit of wit from Doc, the room burst into laughter.

"Ok, OK! Now that you've all had your little moment of fun, is there any other news of interest at this point?" Evans asked. After a moment of silence, he continued.

"The reason for calling you all here today is to continue our discussion of the current state of affairs here on our planet and to begin to develop some sort of plan to change that."

"Several months ago, we came together for the very first time to get acquainted and to discuss our shared interests and views. After much discussion and debate, we all had determined that the current leaders of our government are not concerned with the welfare of our planet. Neither do they share our beliefs. They are corrupt to the core, self-centered and only concerned with one thing, that is, their own interests. We were all in agreement that something needed to be done."

"Yes, we all agreed that something needed to be done, but my concern is the size of our group. As you see, there are only a few of us here." Doc said calmly. "What can we ever hope to accomplish with such a small group?"

"You have a point, Doc." Max replied. "Evans, how can we effect change over the entire planet with such a small group?"

Evans threw his arms above his head.

"Ok, OK!" He exclaimed. "Did I ever imply in our previous meetings that we were going to take on the task of changing the whole planet all at once?"

"No, but, as my two colleagues have stated, what can such a small group do?" Ian asked.

Evans sat silent for a moment, his hand stroking his chin.

"You know, an old earth riddle comes to mind, which I believe would be quite appropriate at this point." He said.

Doc rudely interrupted. "Well…here it comes… You all know, Evans' favorite planet is Earth. I knew it was just a matter of time before he injected some reference borne of that planet into our discussion."

By now, Doc's relentless complaining and obnoxious manner had stretched Evans' patience almost to its breaking point. He attempted once more to put Doc back in his place.

"Yes Doc, I am going to apply some Earth wisdom here." Evans scolded. You know, it might do you some good if you visited there sometime. You could learn a great deal from those people. Obviously more than you have learned from the Voyager race."

Doc sneered at Evans and shook his head. After seeing the effects of his last comment, he tried to cover a partial smile which was peeking from his lips before continuing to speak.

"This riddle provides the perfect answer to Max's question. All of you are concerned about how we are going to change our current situation with so few people. Well, I'll tell you. The riddle goes like this… 'How does one eat an elephant?'"

"What's an elephant?" Max asked.

"It's a rather large animal. It's 8 to 12 feet high and weighs several tons. Now shut up and let me finish." Evans quipped.

"Does anyone here know the answer?"

The members glanced at one another with puzzled expressions on their faces then focused their attention back on their leader.

"Well since there are no takers here, I'll tell you. How does one eat an elephant? You eat it…one bite…at a time. That's how. And this piece of sage advice applies to our situation here."

Max nodded in agreement and spoke up.

"I'd say, if we have to start eating somewhere, maybe it's time we invite the Prime Minister and the Council of Six to dinner. They are the cause of the downfall of many of us who are here now."

"Yea, and don't forget those stool-pigeons at VHQ. They have a big part in this also. They are just as corrupt." Doc pointed out to the group.

While Doc and Max continued to list off all those who had wronged them in the past, Ian decided to interrupt them to put in his two cents worth.

"Hey, now wait just a minute!" Ian shouted as he began a tirade of his own. "You two act as if you are the only ones who have had problems here. I've had more than my fair share of run-ins with VHQ. As Voyager field personnel, you work for them for years going here and there correcting problems in time with very little to compensate you for your troubles. Just when you think you have everything going right for you, they strip you of your omni and guidebook and send you on your merry way. For what! Breaking one stupid little code in the Voyager handbook! Then, you are on your own. No omni, no pension, no future, no nothing! What's a Voyager to do, especially when he reaches Doc's age."

Taken aback by Ian's last statement, Doc once again chimed in with contempt in his voice. "Huh? What do you mean? 'When he reaches Doc's age?'" He asked. "Are you implying I'm passed it? I'll have you know, I still have a lot of life left in me."

The members of the group, now intrigued by Doc's response, sat there enjoying every word of this award winning performance.

"By the time you have made your way to the Home for Aged Voyagers and are sipping your tea in your cozy little rocking chair and watching life unfold outside your window, I'll be running around with the energy of an eighteen year old." Doc boasted.

Doc paused as the group again burst into laughter. After a few moments, silence befell the room and he continued.

"Ian, if I am not mistaken, I think you have left out a few key details in that story of yours. If you have no objections, I would be more than happy to share these with the group."

Ian smirked. "Well, since you obviously seem to know so much more about my situation, please, by all means, go ahead…spill it…We're listening."

"One stupid little code, huh? I'd say it was one of the top ten." Doc asserted. "As I recall, during your last assignment or should I dare say final assignment, you were caught red-handed on Earth, specifically, at a bank in Switzerland stuffing your pockets and anything else you could get your hands on with gold from their vaults."

The group once again began to laugh at Doc's comments.

"I was just funding my retirement." Ian replied as he made excuses for himself. "With the measly wages they pay field personnel, how else am I to survive once I reach retirement age? Not only that, but rocking chairs and tea bags aren't cheap you know."

Once again the room burst into laughter.

"Ok, gentlemen, that'll be enough of the levity." Evans said sternly. "The time has come for us to get serious here and figure out a plan of action."

Another member of the group spoke up. "Do you have a specific plan in mind, Evans?" He asked.

Evans, frustrated with the situation, answered impatiently.

"No. I am just saying it's time for us to do something instead of just resting here on our laurels making wisecracks at each other."

"To take action, we must have a plan." Doc stated. "Does anyone here have a plan?"

The room grew silent. Each of the members looked at one another in anticipation of a response to the question. After a brief period, the group was startled by the sound of a deep voice emanating from the back of the room.

"I…have a plan..." The voice replied in a soft, slow tone. "That is… if you are willing to listen."

The group turned their heads in unison, curiously observing the darkness at the back of the room.

"Who are you?" Evans asked. "Show yourself!"

Suddenly, a tall figure dressed in dark clothing and a long black overcoat emerged from behind a stack of crates. He stood in their midst in silhouette and was eerily silent.

"Sir, this is a private meeting." Evans quipped. "I ask you once again, who are you?"

"I am your salvation…so to speak. I…am the one who will help you accomplish all you seek." The intruder replied.

"Sir, you still have not answered my question. Who are you?"

"Who am I…" The intruder replied cynically.

Evans repeated his question once again. "Yes, who are you?"

For a moment there was silence in the room. Before Evans could utter his next words, the intruder once again spoke.

"I am… an humble student of Machiavelli." He said softly.

Max, now sporting a perplexed expression looked at the others seated around the table and began to speak.

"Who?…" Before he was able to finish his question, he was interrupted by the intruder.

"I am…A fellow Voyager who has also been wronged by those same people who have wronged all of you."

"I am…An enemy of the Prime Minister, the Council of Six and those in power at Voyager Headquarters."

"I am…" The intruder suddenly stopped as he slowly walked into the light of the room.

Gasps came from the group as they saw the intruder's face and realized who was now in their presence.

"Mr. Drake!" Mallory exclaimed, as he was taken totally by surprise at the sight of his former instructor from Voyager Academy.

Max turned to Doc and exclaimed, "It's Drake! He's still alive and kicking!"

Drake walked over to the young renegade technician, looked down and put his hand on the lad's shoulder.

"Mr. Mallory." Drake said in monotone. "I see not all of my lectures at Voyager Academy fell on deaf ears. Looks as if you finally saw the light so to speak. Good to see you again my young friend."

Drake raised his head and scanned the remainder of those in attendance.

Doc stared at Drake as if he had seen a ghost. Now, with a curious expression on his face he began to quiz the legend.

"Drake, we all thought you were dead. We heard all about the Voyager trials and all those lukewarm Voyagers you were able to banish. Impressive! They deserved all they got. It's too bad you were not able to finish your task. I would have loved to see a few others at VHQ banished forever."

Drake smiled at Doc and replied. "Thank you… It's Doc, right?"

"Yes." Doc replied.

"My plan would have succeeded too if it hadn't been for that no-good Phineas Bogg, his brat of a partner and that nosey little harlot, Susan." Drake spewed.

"Yea Bogg has always been given preferential treatment. If it wasn't for Garth and his lackeys, he would be just another nobody like us." Doc grumbled.

Drake nodded in affirmation. "No truer words have ever been spoken." He said.

"Drake, based on what we were told, we all thought you were killed during your latest 'bout with Bogg in 1492." Evans said pointedly. "Rumor has it you were made to walk the plank for your crimes."

"Unfortunately, rumors of my demise were highly exaggerated." Drake said as he lowered his head and stroked his chin. "Bogg and his little brat wanted them to kill me, however, at the last moment; they obviously could not stomach the thought of having my blood on their hands. Bogg tossed my omni to me just before they pushed me over the edge."

"But enough about my past, gentlemen, I feel there are more important issues to discuss at this point."

"What do you mean, Drake?" Evans asked curiously.

"Well Mr. Evans, I'll tell you." Drake replied as he clasped his hands behind his back and slowly began to walk around the table.

"Let me get straight to the point. This group, Paradox as you have come to call yourselves, is… in my opinion in need of a change in leadership. I am here to help remedy that situation."

"We already have a leader. Evans here is our leader." Max shouted out to the rogue Voyager. "Why do we need another?"

A low rumble now encompassed the room as the members of Paradox responded to Drake's comments.

"Gentlemen. Please!" Drake exclaimed. "While Mr. Evans here has done a great service in organizing and assembling this group, the time has now come to pass the torch to someone who can take on an active leadership role, devise a plan and put it into action."

More rumbling came from the members as they voiced their objection to what they had heard thus far.

Evans stood up and spoke to the group. "Please calm yourselves. While it's true, I have accomplished quite a lot in bringing us all together here. However, Mr. Drake is…quite correct. I cannot lead this group to its ultimate destination. So please, let us hear him out. Please, do continue Mr. Drake."

"Thank you Mr. Evans." Drake said warmly. "As I said, I believe it is time to pass the torch to someone who can devise a plan and put it into action. I believe I am the one who can accomplish these tasks."

At this point, the room became unusually quiet. Each of the members sat and pondered those statements which had been put before them. During this time, the only sound that could be heard was Drake's footsteps as he continued to walk slowly around the room. Suddenly, Drake stopped in his tracks and began to speak.

"Ok, gentlemen. You've all had ample time to think it over. So what is your decision?"

"Well, I believe I can speak for the group here." Doc replied. "We know where you stand and your record obviously speaks for itself. We are willing to follow you, but the more important question in all of our minds is do you have a plan?"

"A plan?" Drake asked with a somewhat comedic tone. "Gentlemen, do I ever have a plan. But I will not divulge it to you until we are all in agreement here that I am to be your leader."

Evans stood up and began to speak. "Gentlemen, if it will make it easier, I am willing to step down as leader for the good of this group, but only if we are in total agreement to follow Mr. Drake here. Are there any objections?"

The room again grew silent. Each of the members scanned the room to see if there was anyone who objected. After a time, Evans spoke up.

"Since there have been no objections voiced at this point, Mr. Drake is now our new leader." Evans then returned to his seat as Drake walked over and stood behind him.

"Gentlemen, thank you for your vote of confidence." Drake said as he voiced his appreciation to the group. "Mr. Evans, we are not quite finished with you yet."

"What?… What do you mean?" Evans asked.

"Mr. Evans…" Drake said boldly. "You are to be my assistant, my second in command so to speak."

"I'm flattered, truly flattered Mr. Drake. Thank you." Evans replied.

"Ok, now that we've finished with that bit of business, on to the plan of attack."

"Ok Drake, you have a plan, so let's hear it." Max quipped.

Drake walked slowly over and stood behind Mallory.

"Gentlemen, as Mr. Evans stated minutes ago, if we are going to eat an elephant, the only way to do it is one bite at a time. Well, my young friend here has already presented you with the means to take the first bite. As a matter of fact, he presented it to you on a silver platter."

"What?" Max responded with a hint of irritation in his voice. "You mean that bit of information about the new omnichron? How can that be of any importance to us?"

"The name's Max, right?" Drake asked.

"Yes."

"Well Max, let me tell you how. " Drake said wryly. "I too have heard the stories about the Omnichron ACS100. Fortunately for all of us here, I have a bit more information about it than my young friend here. While Mr. Mallory is quite good at gathering information, he lacks a few key contacts that are readily available to me."

"Gentlemen, the ACS100 is the latest and greatest achievement ever to come out of Voyager Technical. As I understand it, they have been working on this project for months now and the prototype has now been completed. It is in the final testing phase prior to it being mass-produced. Once their testing is complete, only a handful of these units will be built for use by the government. They will not be available to Voyager field personnel."

"Ok, so what's so special about this omni?" Doc asked.

Drake nodded his head. "I knew you were going to ask that question. The ACS100 has all of the features and functions of the current omnis out in the field, but with a few added features. First, it has a voice response system that allows the user to control the command functions by simply speaking the commands aloud."

Doc sneered at Drake's explanation. "Yea right, a spiffy new omni that allows you to talk to it. Just what we all need."

He then held up his hand in front of his face as if he had an omni clutched in it and started yet another one of his grand performances. He mimicked opening the lid and then began to speak to it.

"Hel----lo Mr. Omni." Doc said humorously.

Using a little bit of ventriloquism, he made the invisible omni respond. "Hello Doc. What can I do for you today?"

"Please take me to Voyager Headquarters, so that I may pillage and burn the place." He commanded.

"Ok Doc. Hold on… Here we go!" The omni replied.

The members were at this juncture unable to suppress their laughter. It was now obvious by the disgusted expression on Drake's face; he was clearly not amused by Doc's bit of comedy.

While the laughter continued, Drake walked over to the window and began to wipe away some the dirt and peer outside. He stood there for a few moments as the members tried to regain their composure.

"Doc, when you have finished with your little bit of acting, I'll be more than happy to continue my discussion." Drake quipped.

"Sorry Drake." Doc said as he bowed his head, somewhat embarrassed after receiving his tongue-lashing. "But, you must admit, it was rather amusing."

Drake walked away from the window, smiled a little and then continued.

"This omni derives its name from its most important feature. The ACS in ACS100 stands for Automatic Cloaking System. This new omni has the ability to render its user totally invisible. This is used for those times when the user is in danger or needs to observe an event unobtrusively."

"Wow! Invisibility! What a feature! I could accomplish much with an omni like that." Ian exclaimed.

"Yea, like that situation in Switzerland." Max said snidely.

"The ACS100 is the KEY to my plan and we must do whatever is necessary to acquire it." Drake said boldly.

"That's going to be difficult, since it is locked away in a strong-room at Voyager Technical." Mallory stated. "It's not going to be easy to get to it with all of the security cameras and pressure sensors in the floors."

"On the contrary my young friend, that's where you come in." Drake replied. "We will need to gain access to the security system to disable the cameras and the sensors. And you are just the person to accomplish that task. After that, Doc and Max here will enter the building, gain access to the lab and get the omni."

Mallory looked over at his former instructor and with a bit of trepidation, stated. "Sir, I can't just disable the cameras, the security personnel will become suspicious."

"My young friend, rest assured there is a way." Drake reassured. "We will work out the details later."

"So, with that said are there any questions?" He asked. "If there are none, we will meet back here tomorrow evening to put phase one of our plan into action."

"What time?" Evans asked.

"Say around 9:00 pm." Drake replied.

Max and Doc started making their way toward the door. Before they had a chance to leave, Drake looked over and called their attention to him.

"Oh Max… Doc… One other thing…" Drake said glibly. "You will need to get your hands on some tools, flashlights and such to use to gain access to the building. Oh, and don't forget to dress in dark clothing. We wouldn't want you to be noticed by the security guards."

Doc mumbled somewhat at Drake's last comment as Max replied, "Yes sir."

"Last but not least, Mr. Mallory…" Drake stated.

"Yes sir." Mallory replied.

"I will need you to acquire some computer equipment to set up an anonymous link here to the VHQ mainframe. Can you accomplish this on such short notice?"

"No problem, sir." Mallory replied quite eagerly. "The equipment will be here tomorrow afternoon."

"Excellent! Unless there are any other questions, I will see all of you here tomorrow evening." Drake said before turning and exiting from the room.


	3. Temptations

****

_VOYAGERS!_ - The Voyager Chronicles  
THE CRIME OF ALL TIME - BOOK 3  
(Sequel to Tastes of Freedom)  
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
October 2007 (Revised 05/2009)  
Previous disclaimers apply

**Chapter 2 – TEMPTATIONS**

It had been a slow and fairly uneventful day at Voyager Technical. The Information Services and Technology division had spent most of its time and resources attempting to correct a software glitch in the VHQ computer network. I.S. & T, one of 3 diverse areas under the umbrella of Voyager Technical Services was the group who was solely responsible for maintaining the computer systems network on the planet. Mallory, a five year veteran of this division was currently inside his VisiPod furiously typing on his keyboard in an attempt to complete his last assignment for the day.

The VisiPod, the latest advancement in workgroup furniture was introduced at VT several years ago. By 20th century standards they would have been known as cubicles, but with some slight differences. VisiPods were octagon-shaped ergonomic workstations with two tinted glass side panels and a door in the middle. They almost always were joined into circular PodGroups with the doors of each facing out into a common area. The PodGroup was much like a small, enclosed office building that was isolated from all other PodGroups. Employees responsible for specific tasks or areas of expertise were assigned to PodGroups thus allowing for greater work efficiency and communication within the group. Unlike most at VT, the young Mallory was not at all fond of them since they made him feel like a bee in a hive.

As Mallory sat there attempting to concentrate on his work, he suddenly paused, leaned back in his chair and began to stare off into the distance. Like a bolt of lightning, reality had just set in. He realized his part in the upcoming evening's events was more important than anything he had ever been involved in before. He knew he had to succeed at his task, not only to prove his worth to the group, but also and most importantly to gain Doc's confidence. In addition, he knew all too well that failure would bring Doc's retribution down upon him, much like what had transpired during Paradox's last meeting.

Without warning, Mallory shifted in his chair as he came out of his short trance-like state. He sat there for a time, rubbing his temples, trying to shake off the effects of the thoughts which had distracted him. Upon regaining focus, he again continued with the task at hand. A half hour or so later his work was complete and he began to wrap up for the day. After straightening his desk and filing away some loose paperwork, he logged off his computer terminal, stood up and pushed his chair under his desk. As he made his way toward the exit, he snapped his fingers as he realized he had left his desk lamp switched on. After retracing his steps, he switched off the lamp and proceeded to once again to leave the building. Upon reaching the elevator, Rosalyn, the young administrative assistant to the Director of Voyager Technical Services, met him.

"Hi Shawn! Calling it a day?" Rosalyn asked.

Mallory blew a deep breath from his loosely puckered lips. "Yea, finally! It's been a tough day and I'm exhausted."

Rosalyn was the newest person to join the ranks of Voyager Technical. She had been hired some six months earlier to replace the prior administrative assistant who had just retired. A beautiful, young lady with long brown hair and piercing blue eyes, she had a very sweet and outgoing personality which further emphasized her extreme good looks.

"Tell me about it." She said sympathetically. "That software glitch has had the Director on pins and needles all day. He's been snapping at everyone, including me."

"I'm sorry to hear that." He consoled. "I know just how you feel. He's been snapping at my supervisor also. If that wasn't enough, my supervisor has been taking it out on me as well. You know the usual stuff…'Have you fixed it yet?…and…How much longer is it going to take?"

"I take it you were able to resolve the issue, because if you didn't, it will be much the same situation when we arrive here tomorrow." Roz stated.

"Well, it was one serious issue but, thankfully it's fixed now." Mallory reassured.

"That's good news! Maybe the Director will have a better disposition in the morning."

As Mallory stood there, he began to rub the back of his neck as he attempted to stretch the tight muscles in that area.

"Ooh. My neck is so stiff I can barely move it. That's the result of looking at a computer screen all day." Mallory said as he winced in pain.

"Here, wait a moment. I have something that will help that." Rosalyn said as she pointed to a nearby VisiPod. "Have a seat over in that chair and I'll work on it for you."

Mallory walked over with Rosalyn at his side and sat down in the chair. Once he was comfortably seated, Rosalyn stood behind him and began to massage his tense shoulders.

"Wow! You REALLY are tense!" She exclaimed. "You need to take breaks more often."

"How can I with my supervisor constantly breathing down my neck." Mallory quipped.

"Just tell him you need a breath of fresh air in order to refocus. Then get up and walk around for a minute or two."

"You're kidding, right?" Mallory asked. "I can't even go to the men's room without him standing outside the door watching the clock to make sure I return promptly to my desk as soon as the job is finished."

Rosalyn began to laugh. "C'mon, now. He's not that bad, is he?" She asked.

"Hey, come over and work in our group for a while and find out. By the end of your first day, you will think the Director is a big old softie."

Rosalyn chuckled a bit before resuming her treatment. "You're so silly. Now just sit back, relax, think good thoughts and let my hands do the healing."

After several minutes of hush and an enormous amount of muscle kneading, the young Mallory, like a limp noodle in her hands was almost asleep. At this point, she stopped her work.

"Ohhhhhh…ooooooooo!" Mallory said sleepily. "Why did you have to stop?"

"It only takes a few minutes of work to relieve the tension. If I went beyond that it would have a negative effect." Rosalyn replied.

Mallory swiveled around in his chair and looked up at Rosalyn as he slowly rubbed the back of his neck. "Thank you Roz. You don't know how much better that feels. I will have to return the favor sometime."

"Yes, I'd like that." She replied lovingly.

Mallory rose from his seat and began to slowly walk toward the elevator.

"Well, Roz, I must be going. Thanks again for the treatment. You really should consider making a career of it. You're quite good."

"Thanks, for the compliment, Shawn. But for now, I'll stick to being an administrative assistant. "

"Right!" He agreed as he began to walk away. "See you tomorrow, then."

Rosalyn took a couple of steps and raised a hand in the air. "Hey, wait a minute!"

Mallory, now a good distance from her, stopped and looked back.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Do you have any plans for the evening? I thought...well… maybe you'd like to go for a coffee. There's a new coffeehouse that just opened not far from here."

Mallory stood there silent, his mind now in a quandary. Her question had caught him totally off guard. For months, his feelings for the young administrative assistant had gradually intensified but, he had not yet gathered the courage to ask her out on a date. Now on the most important evening of his life, with Paradox depending on him to prove his worth, he was faced with the ultimate decision of all time. Would it be Paradox or Rosalyn?

Rosalyn quickly dashed over to his side. "Shawn…Shawn! Are you ok?" She asked with a concerned tone.

"Oh…oh…Yes…I mean…well… Yes I'm ok. Uh…unfortunately though, I have plans for this evening." He replied somewhat nervously.

The sparkle which had been present in Rosalyn's eyes at the beginning of their conversation had now faded with disappointment. Unbeknownst to the young Mallory, Rosalyn was also infatuated with him as well.

"Oh… ok… I understand… Maybe another time then…" She said as she attempted to hide her disappointment.

"Yea, another time…that…that would be great!" Mallory said as he turned and continued walking toward the elevator.

Rosalyn smiled and shook her head. "I'll hold you to it. Have a good evening Shawn."

"Thanks. You too!"

At this point, Mallory stepped inside the elevator and the doors closed behind him.


	4. The Heist

****

_VOYAGERS!_ - The Voyager Chronicles  
THE CRIME OF ALL TIME - BOOK 3  
(Sequel to Tastes of Freedom)  
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
October 2007 (Revised 05/2009)  
Previous disclaimers apply

**Chapter 3 – THE HEIST**

After leaving VHQ, Mallory spent the next couple of hours in search of equipment and supplies needed to fulfill Drakes' request. At the completion of his little shopping spree, with boxes of equipment neatly packed in the back of his vehicle, he made his way to Paradox headquarters. Upon arrival, he slowly and cautiously backed his vehicle up to the front entrance. As he opened the door and stepped out, he couldn't help but notice his friend and fellow Paradox member Evans was now walking towards him.

"You think you have enough equipment there?" Evans asked, while attempting to hide a grin.

"Yea. I've got all I need right here." Mallory replied as he proceeded to the rear of his vehicle and opened the hatch.

"Are you sure? You're sure you didn't forget something?" Evans teased.

"No…I have everything I need." Mallory said rather casually as he lifted a box of equipment and set it on the ground.

Evans pointed to a small empty area in the back of Mallory's vehicle. "Mallory, look! You see, there! I believe you were supposed to have something in that spot. Looks like you forgot to bring it along."

Mallory put down the box he was currently holding and looked up at Evans with a slight look of aggravation on his face.

Evans who had been holding back a good chuckle, laughed, then walked over and put his hand on Mallory's shoulder.

"Need a hand?" He asked.

Mallory breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought you would never ask. I need to get all of this stuff inside quickly before someone notices."

After some time and much labor, the two finally emptied the contents of Mallory's vehicle and transferred it inside Paradox HQ. While Evans began setting the stage for the events of the evening, Mallory began to unpack and set up the equipment he had brought. Once he finished this task, he set out to hack into the mainframe. Hours later, after an exhaustive bout of typing in what seemed like endless commands and computer code, Mallory, wiped the sweat from his brow, leaned back in his chair and exclaimed "I'm in!"

Evans ran into the room. "What? Did you say something?"

"I said…I'm in! I've established a connection to the Voyager Computer Network!" Mallory announced.

Evans walked over, stood behind his assistant and looked down at the information being displayed on the computer terminal.

"Good job, Mallory! That was quick!" Evans complimented. "Do they know you are in there?"

"No, it's an anonymous connection."

"Will they be able to trace it?"

"No, at least not without an extreme amount of effort. I have connected us to the network via an external service channel and have bypassed all the security protocols. To prevent them from being able to trace the connection easily, I have bounced it around several relay points on the planet as well as off several satellites."

"How limited is our access?" Evans asked as he peered at the screen.

"We have complete and unlimited access to the entire VHQ computer system, including Mission Control and internal security." Mallory explained.

Evans patted Mallory on the shoulder. "Well, I guess I'll keep you after all."

Mallory grinned. "I'm glad to hear that…I would hate to think that all of this work I'm doing was for nothing."

At that moment, Doc burst into the room in a rather gallant manner followed closely by Max, who was carrying an armload of gear. Doc stopped suddenly as Evans and Mallory, startled by the intrusion, cast their eyes upon him.

"Well, how do I look?" Doc asked. Before they could reply, he held out his arms in a sort of fashion model pose and twirled around, showing off his black coveralls and ski mask. "It's the latest in undercover fashion theft-wear. You like?"

"I'd say you have successfully dressed for the part." Evans said as he bowed his head in an attempt to staunch his laughter. "It's a sure bet you won't have any problems being inconspicuous in that getup."

Mallory lowered his head quickly. Seeing Doc attempting to mimic a fashion model was just more than he could handle. Doc's little performance had at present, got the best of him. Unable to hold back the onslaught, he burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at…kid?" Doc barked.

"Nothing…uh…nothing Doc." Mallory replied as he cupped his hands over his mouth in an attempt to regain his composure.

"You are laughing at me, aren't you? It's just like you young folk…you have no respect for your elders." He ranted.

Unknowingly, Doc had just fueled an ember inside the young technician. Upon hearing this, Mallory raised his head, paused for a moment and with a straight face responded to Doc's comment.

"Yes if you must know, I was laughing at your outfit. You asked us for our opinions, well, here is mine. As far as your getup is concerned, I guess it's ok, if you like that sort of thing. But an old man in black coveralls and a ski mask doing a pirouette in the middle of the room, really doesn't do anything for me."

Doc put his hands on his hips and replied. "Well… I've got news for you too, you little runt…you don't do anything for me either. And once again, I'm not old…so get over it."

"Oh yea and another thing…" Mallory shouted.

Evans rolled his eyes and then whispered to himself. "Oh lord!… Here it comes."

"Yes, Doc. Us young people have no respect for you old folk. As a matter of fact, we have our own secret society whose sole purpose is to make the lives of old folk like you, miserable. We meet monthly to compare notes and plan our next hit."

Mallory needed to win this battle with Doc and the only way he could do so was to put the fear of God into him so to speak. Drawing on the little bit of acting experience he had acquired while in school, he began his little performance. Without warning, Mallory rose quickly from his chair, whipped around and quickly outstretched his arm as he pointed to Doc. While sporting a fiercely intense, almost evil look, he began to speak in a malevolent tone. "Tread softly, sir and choose thy words with care. Thou knowest not whose eyes couldst be watching thee, nor whose ears thy words shall touch. Be thou warned… Thou couldst be our next victim!"

Doc's eyes grew wide upon being obviously startled by Mallory's performance. It was as if he had seen the devil incarnate. In response, he quickly attempted to take a step backward and while doing so, almost knocked Max and his load of equipment to the floor. Once he steadied himself and his partner, he regained his courage and began to walk toward Mallory. Halfway across the room, he stopped, pointed his finger at him and exclaimed. "I knew it! It's a conspiracy!"

Max yelled at his partner. "Doc! What are you trying to do, kill me or something? When you are finished acting like a spoiled fashion model, I would appreciate some help with all of this equipment."

"What?" Doc snipped.

"You heard me, now get your dainty little self back over here and take some of this gear!" Max exclaimed with disgust.

Doc grumbled a bit as he walked over to his partner and began to help him unload the gear and set it on the floor.

As the time of the operation drew closer, the remaining members of Paradox filed into the room one by one. Unnoticed by those who had arrived before him, Drake appeared out of no-where and casually strolled over and stood next to Evans and Mallory.

Why my young friend, it looks as if you have the link set up." Drake stated.

"Yes, Mr. Drake. We now have unlimited access to Voyager Technical, Mission Control and security." Mallory replied as looked up at his former instructor.

Evans turned to Drake. "I told him, he's a keeper. What do you think?"

"I taught the young Mallory well." Drake boasted. "He's a credit to his instructor."

Mallory smiled, before turning his attention back to the computer screen.

"Mr. Mallory, your work to the point is impressive; however, your task is not yet complete. I need for you to access the security system at Voyager Technical. Can you accomplish that?"

"Yes…Mr. Drake…No problem." Mallory replied as he began to type on the keyboard.

"There…I've accessed the building security system. What next?"

"Ok, my young friend, I need you to do two things for me. First, are we capable of disabling the building alarms, without changing the status on the security personnel's console?" Drake asked.

Mallory pressed a few keys on the keyboard and another display came up on his screen. "That's no problem, Mr. Drake. I have isolated their console from the rest of the system. Their console will show everything to be ok. " He said.

"Good…good. Now, can we gain access to the security system display units and put them in a continuous loop? I want them to show the last image recorded by the cameras continuously."

With a few more keystrokes, the young technician brought up another screen on the computer terminal. He looked at it for a moment, pressed a few more keys and then looked back at Drake."

"I can do that too. Do you want me to do it now?" Mallory asked.

"Not yet Mr. Mallory." Drake said before turning to Evans. "Evans, what time is it?"

Evans pulled a gold watch from his pocket and looked at it. "Eight fifty-nine."

"Where did you pick up that little trinket?" Drake asked curiously as he pulled Evan's hand closer to him.

"It was given to me on one of my first missions in the field, by… a friend." Evans replied.

Drake turned his attention back to the young technician.

"Mr. Mallory, would you say by now that most everyone at Voyager technical has left the premises?"

"Yes sir." He acknowledged. "There should only be security personnel in the building at this time."

"Well, then, let's get started. Doc! Max! Come over and join us." Drake ordered.

Doc and Max stopped what they were doing, walked over and stood beside the three.

"What's up?" Doc asked.

"This is the plan, gentlemen." Drake replied as he reached inside his coat and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. He then unrolled it out onto the table.

"This is a map of the Voyager Technical complex. " He said as he pointed to the map. "And here is the strong-room where the ACS100 is being kept."

"But that's on the second floor!" Doc exclaimed. "We can't just walk in and take the elevator to get to that floor. We'll be seen for sure."

"Calm yourself, Doc. That's where our young friend here comes into play. We will give you and Max some time, say 30 minutes to get to the building, then at 9:30 pm, my young friend here will disable the building alarms allowing you both to enter the building."

"But what about the cameras?" Max asked. "They will still be able to see us."

"We have that covered too." Drake replied. "Before Mr. Mallory disables the alarms, he will put all of the security system display units in a continuous loop. They will display the last image recorded by the cameras continuously. When you enter the building, the security personnel will be seeing images that were taken minutes before you gained access."

"Clever, very clever." Doc said, now impressed by the details of Drake's plan thus far. "Are you sure our young whiz kid here is capable of all of this? You know it's our butts in a sling, if he makes a mess of it."

"I won't make a mess of it!" Mallory said impudently. "It's a piece of cake. "

"You had better not…" Doc warned.

"Gentlemen. Please." Drake quipped, somewhat irritated. "Max, do you and Doc have all the equipment you need?"

"Yes, sir. Max acknowledged. "We have flashlights, tools to pick the locks, ropes and other gear just in case we need to make a hasty exit out the window."

"Good…"

Evans looked once again at his watch. "It's eight forty-five now. We all need to synchronize our watches."

Max and Doc adjusted the time on their watches to match that of Evans' timepiece.

"Ok gentlemen…time to proceed." Drake announced. "Please gather your tools and be on your way. Remember, we will disable the security systems at 9:30 sharp. Not one minute more or one minute less. Be prepared to enter at that exact time."

"Aye, Aye! Sir." Doc said as he turned and saluted Drake. Then he and Max exited the room.

Drake shook his head in disbelief then turned his attention to Evans.

"Do you think they can pull this one off?" He asked.

"I believe so, sir." Evans said confidently. "Doc is just being his usual self. That's just his way. When the going gets tough you can depend on him. Besides, Max will be with him. He will keep him in line."

"Are you sure about that?" Mallory asked.

"Positive." Evans replied.

Drake and Evans pulled up a chair and sat down on either side of the young Mallory and waited for the appropriate time.

"Oh, one more thing Mr. Mallory…" Drake said wryly.

"Sir?"

"When you put the security system display units in a loop, can you also route the current images from the cameras to this computer terminal here?" He asked. "In that way, we can monitor Doc and Max's progress."

"Yes sir,"

Drake leaned back in his chair, took a deep breath and replied…"and now we wait."

-----------------------------------

It was late evening. The city was now calm and dark, except for the soft glow of randomly placed street lamps and building lights throughout. The heavens were afire with a multitude of stars, whose light brightly beamed down upon the planet. The two moons of Planet Voyager were deep on the horizon and had taken on an eerie sort of blush, as they had donned a coat of deep burgundy-red. These were the conditions necessary for the ideal heist. Now a good fifteen minutes or so into their journey to Voyager Technical, Doc and Max stopped for a moment to rest and get their bearings.

"We should have borrowed some transport." Max said put down his load, bent over and gasped for air. "It's one thing…to walk to Voyager Technical...yet another to walk there carrying…all this gear. Why don't you take a turn at carrying some of this?"

"We shoulda borrowed some transport." Doc mocked. "Wimp! Your trouble is you are out of shape. Why when I was your age, I could carry twice that load for many miles without even breaking a sweat."

"Well in that case, why don't you take a turn at it." Max insisted.

Doc began to point out his partner's apparent error in his thought processes. "Only one person can be the brains of this operation. That's me! I can't be the brains and the brawn at the same time."

"Ok, you've made your point. Now, how much further." Max asked.

"Should only be a couple of blocks or so."

"I hope so, otherwise I will have no energy left to help pull off this job."

Doc started walking again and realizing his partner was not behind him, stopped and looked back.

"Hey! We don't have all night! Come on!" Doc said as he waived to Max.

"I'm coming! Geeze! Don't get your panties in a twist!" Max exclaimed as he reached down and picked up his load.

"I heard that!" Doc said gruffly. "and for your information, I don't wear panties. I haven't done so in many a year! Now come on!"

Max reached down into the depths of his soul and summoned up a small amount of extra energy to run and catch up to Doc. The two then continued their journey and arrived at their final destination several minutes later. To keep from being seen, they hid behind some decorative shrubbery which encircled the multi-story building.

"Well, we made it and a little bit early to boot." Doc acknowledged.

Max looked at his watch. "Nine twenty-five. Looks like we have some time to plan our method of attack."

Doc pulled out the map Drake had given him and shined a flashlight on it. After studying it a few moments, he pointed to the side of the building.

"Max, you see that side door over there." Doc whispered. "That's where we will make our grand entrance."

Max looked down at the map. "Ok, I agree. There's no light on that side of the building, so we won't be easily seen. Besides, according to the map, the elevator to the upper floors is just a few steps away."

Doc looked at his watch. "Nine-thirty! It's time!" He whispered. "C'mon it's now or never."

In order not to be seen, the two ducked their heads and quickly ran from their hiding place behind the shrubs and made their way over to the side door. Upon arrival, Max reached into his bag of tools and handed Doc an instrument to pick the lock. After a short time, Doc had unlocked the door.

"I sure hope that smarty-britches kid has disabled the alarm, otherwise, it's the end, right here and now!" Doc whispered.

"Have faith, Doc. He won't let us down. Now get that damn door open!" Max whispered.

Doc gingerly opened the door as if the slightest movement would cause it to shatter. He paused for a time and listened for an inevitable alarm, but was all too shocked to realize that none had sounded.

"He did it!" Doc whispered in disbelief. "The kid actually did it!"

"Told ya, you fool!" Max chided his partner. "He won't let us down. Now let's get inside before someone notices.

Meanwhile, back at Paradox Headquarters, Drake, Evans and Mallory were currently monitoring the progress of the two via Mallory's technological wizardry.

"Look!" Mallory exclaimed. "There! On the left. It's Doc and they are inside the building."

"Well they have made it inside. That's a start, but there's much left to be done and many opportunities for them to get caught." Drake quipped.

Max and Doc quietly made their way down the hall to the elevator and called it. After a few seconds, the doors opened and in a bumbling manner, the two made it inside.

"What floor, Max?" Doc asked.

"You're the self-proclaimed brains of this operation." Max said pointedly. "So you should already know where we need to go."

"Well, I don't." Doc quipped. "So quit the complaining and tell me."

"Push 2. The lab is on the second floor like the map said."

Doc pushed the button and the two quickly reached the second floor. When the doors of the elevator opened, the two cautiously peeked out into the hallway to see if there was anyone around. Satisfied by what they had seen, they exited the elevator and began to walk quietly down the hallway. After passing by several doors, they finally reached the door marked "208-OmniChron Research & Development."

"Here it is! Now all we have to do is get inside." Max whispered to his partner.

"Gimme a minute and I'll have that taken care of." Doc said as he kneeled in front of the door and began to pick the lock.

With a few twists of his instrument, the lock tripped and Doc once again had successfully worked his magic in record time.

"Voila!" Doc said as he opened the door. Let's go."

"They have made it inside the lab." Evans said excitedly.

Drake sat in his chair, wringing his hands in an evil sort of way. "Just one more obstacle to overcome and the ACS100 is ours."

Once inside the lab, Doc and Max looked around the huge room to find the entrance to the strong room. Suddenly Max stopped and waived his arm at this partner.

"Doc!" Max whispered. "Over here! Quick!"

As Doc made his way over to Max's location, he accidentally knocked over a small box of parts onto the floor.

"SHHHH!! Doc!" Max whispered.

At that moment, a security guard who was making his rounds heard the noise coming from within as he walked past the door. He stopped for a moment as he turned back to investigate. He put his hand against the glass and peered inside to see what was going on.

"Doc! Quick! Hide! Someone's at the door!" Max whispered.

Doc ran and ducked behind a work bench just as the guard opened the door.

With flashlight in hand, the guard entered the room and began to shine it around the perimeter.

"Uh…oh! Looks like Doc and Max are in trouble." Mallory pointed out to his two colleagues. "They must have made some noise or something. A security guard just entered the lab."

"This doesn't look good!" Evans replied nervously.

"Wait! Look there!" Drake said as he pointed to the screen. "The guard is coming back out."

The guard, upon finding nothing suspicious in the room, turned and exited the room. He closed the door behind him and locked it with his keys. Allowing time for the guard to get clear of the door, the two came out of hiding and continued with their task.

"Whew! That was close!" Max exclaimed.

"Way too close!" Doc agreed as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Look, it's the door to the strong-room." Max said upon reaching the door. "Here, it's time for you to do your magic again. This door is locked also."

Doc once again kneeled in front of the door and began to pick the lock. However, unlike the previous locks which were easily picked, this one was much more difficult.

"What's taking you so long, Doc." He asked impatiently. "You should have had that door unlocked minutes ago."

"Can it, Max!" Doc said as he continued working. "This lock is a so-called pickproof lock. It's just a matter of time and… There, it's done! Would you be so kind as to go inside and remove the object we seek?"

"Sure." Max said as he went inside. He walked over to a nearby shelf and began to shine his flashlight on each of the items until he found a box labeled 'ACS100'. He picked up the box and stashed it in his pocket.

"Got it! Now let's get out of here!" Max yelled in a whisper.

"Looks like they have the ACS100." Drake said as he continued to watch the events unfold back at Paradox HQ. "Now, they just have to get out of the building without getting caught."

Max and Doc ran to the elevator and made their way quickly to the exit. Once outside, they ran away from the building as fast as their legs could carry them.

"Ok, they have made it out of the building." Drake said to the young Mallory. "Now, quickly, put the security systems back the way they were."

Mallory began furiously typing on the keyboard and after a few moments, raised his head and made an announcement to the group

"All systems are back to normal."

While Max and Doc made their way down the street, the security guard who had almost caught them both red-handed, returned to the control center. As he entered the room, his partner Lowell, who was currently sitting in front of a security camera display unit, swiveled in his chair and looked at him.

"Ok Jack, where have you been?" Lowell asked. "I bet you've been somewhere sleeping on the job."

"No. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I've been making rounds. I just now finished." Jack said as he blew out a deep breath.

"Really! It's funny, I haven't noticed you on any of these cameras." Lowell teased his partner. "C'mon now, confess…you've been goofing off somewhere, right?"

"No, I haven't. I swear, I just came back from making rounds. Here's my logbook, see for yourself."

Lowell took the log book and began to examine it. Sure enough, his partner's log entries backed up his claims.

"Well, looks like you did make rounds, but, come sit down and let me show you. I'll replay the video tape log."

Jack walked over and sat down beside his partner at the console as he began to replay the tape. Sure enough, he was no-where to be found on the tape log.

"See, I told you. No sign of you anywhere." Lowell confirmed.

"So what gives?" Jack asked.

"Maybe there's a problem with the camera system. I think I'll run a diagnostic to make sure everything is ok."

He flipped a few switches on his console and after a few minutes, a message displayed on his screen 'SYSTEMS CHECK COMPLETE…NO FAULTS FOUND!"

"That's odd…very, very odd. I guess I'll have the guys upstairs check it out in the morning." Lowell said, now somewhat perplexed by it all.

"Yea, please do! I'd hate for anyone to think I was slacking on the job!" Jack said in a humorous tone.


	5. Omni, Omni, Who's Got the Omni?

****

_VOYAGERS!_ - The Voyager Chronicles  
THE CRIME OF ALL TIME - BOOK 3  
(Sequel to Tastes of Freedom)  
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
October 2007 (Revised 05/2009)  
Previous disclaimers apply

**Chapter 4 – OMNI, OMNI, WHO'S GOT THE OMNI?**

It was a typical start to the day for the Omni R & D department. As the sun rose on the horizon, the workers began to arrive at Voyager Technical to begin their appointed tasks. JT and Chris, two technicians currently assigned to Omni R&D arrived early to get a jumpstart on the day's activities.

"Hey, JT! What's up my friend?" Chris asked as he made his way through the front entrance.

"I'll tell you what's up and it's not me." JT said as he began to yawn. "These early mornings are just not good for the soul."

Chris walked up behind his long time friend and co-worker and put his hand on his shoulder. "Another late night with that girl of yours?"

JT looked at Chris, but did not respond. His cheeks were suddenly flushed with color.

Chris playfully punched his friend in the arm. "I knew it…you old stud! You can't keep a secret from me! I know you all too well. Now c'mon let's get some coffee in you. That will bring you back to life."

The two technicians walked down the long hallway until they reached the cafeteria. After grabbing a cup of coffee for each of them, the two proceeded to the Omni R & D department.

"What's on our to-do list today?" Chris asked.

"Well, we need to run the final check-out on the ACS100 before the field tests begin." JT replied.

"Great! My favorite project."

The two arrived at the door of the lab and went inside. Their supervisor Mary was already on site and was inside her office, involved in some research of her own.

"Good morning guys!" Mary said warmly.

"Good morning Mary. " Chris replied as he and JT walked past her office door.

JT did not respond. Mary, knowing JT as she did, sensed something was wrong with her employee. It was highly unusual for JT not to be cracking jokes or talking about some other favorite topic as he walked through the door. Somewhat puzzled by this, she stood up and ran out of her office. She sprinted across the room and stopped directly in their path. At this point, she held up her hand in front of them, in a pose much like a traffic cop.

"Whoa!" Mary said with a smile. "What gives JT? Cat got your tongue?"

"JT is a little under the weather this morning." Chris explained. "I took him to get some coffee before we arrived in the hopes of making him feel a little better."

Mary turned to JT and began to give him the once over with her eyes. "Ahh! I see! Obviously another late night with the G-F." She teased in an attempt to solicit a response from him.

"What is going on here? Are you two psychic or what?" JT exclaimed with a raised inflection. "How do you know I had a late night with my girlfriend? Is it that obvious?"

Mary laughed. "Kiddo! I wasn't born yesterday. You forget, I'm 53 years old and this my dear is not my first rodeo. Besides, it's all happened before."

"Ok!, OK!" JT said as he once again started to blush.

"We've got a long day ahead of us guys, so let's get to work." Mary urged.

JT and Chris strolled over to their respective workstations and started preparing for the tests on the ACS100.

"Hey Chris, why don't you go get the ACS100 from the strong-room while I set up the test equipment?" JT asked as he tossed his keys to his partner. "Here, catch!"

As JT made his way over to the equipment storage cabinet which lined the back wall of the lab, he tripped and fell on the floor with a thud.

"OWWW! Oh…that hurt." JT exclaimed as he slowly sat up.

Chris turned and saw him sitting on the floor, nursing his wounds. "Are you ok?"

"I'm ok Chris. I just tripped over this box of parts that was lying on the floor." He explained.

"A box of parts on the floor? That's odd. I wonder how they got there?" Chris asked, puzzled by the fact.

"I don't know who lost them, but, I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt, I found them." JT answered.

Chris walked over and helped his partner up off the floor.

"You're sure you are ok?" He asked.

"Yea, I'm fine." JT replied as he picked up the box and placed it on a nearby table.

JT hobbled slowly over to the equipment storage cabinets. While he opened several cabinets and retrieved the needed equipment, Chris unlocked the door to the strong-room and went inside. A few moments later, he came storming through the door.

"JT! JT!" Chris exclaimed.

"What? What's wrong?" JT asked.

Chris stopped in front of JT's workstation, now out of breath.

"It's gone!" Chris said he gasped for air.

"What? What's gone?" JT asked curiously.

"The ACS100! It's gone." Chris yelled.

"You're kidding right?" JT asked skeptically. "If this is another one of your practical jokes, I'm not falling for it this time."

"No, JT. It's no joke!" Chris exclaimed. "The ACS100 is not on the shelf where I put it yesterday!"

"It's got to be there. Maybe you forgot where you put it." JT stated as he made a mad dash from behind the workstation and ran into the strong-room.

Chris followed JT into the room and walked over to a shelf which now was empty.

"JT, I swear, I put the ACS100 in its case and placed it on this shelf yesterday evening before I left."

"Did you remember to lock up afterward?" JT asked.

"Yes, remember, I locked the door and gave the keys back to you."

JT had an epiphany. "That's right! I remember now. I watched you as you locked the door."

"What do we do now?" Chris asked.

"We've got to tell Mary." JT said to his partner. "This is serious! Someone must have broken in during the night and took it."

"But how? With all the alarms and security. And the strong-room door was locked."

"I don't know, Chris. I just don't know." JT said as he nodded his head.

After hearing all of the noise outside her office, Mary came out to investigate.

"JT, Chris, what's going on out here? Is there a problem?" She asked.

"Yes, ma'am and it's a doozie." JT confirmed. "The ACS100 prototype is missing."

"Missing? Are you sure?" She asked.

"Yes, ma'am. Quite sure." Chris replied. "I put it in its case and placed it on the shelf in the strong-room yesterday evening before I left. JT saw me close the door and lock it."

"Show me!" Mary said boldly. Chris and JT walked quickly into the strong-room with Mary following closely behind.

"Over here, Mary." Chris said as he motioned for his supervisor to approach. "I placed the unit right here on this shelf."

"Chris, are you sure? Maybe you put it on another shelf and just thought you put it here. Have you searched all the other shelves?" She asked.

"Yes ma'am, I know I put it right here on this shelf. JT and I have looked all over the room and it's nowhere to be seen."

"Guys this is serious. This prototype omni, if it fell into the wrong hands…well…I shudder to think what could happen." Mary said now very concerned and somewhat nervous at the prospect of the theft. "I must go and contact the Director immediately."

Mary ran quickly into her office, sat down at her desk and called the Director's office via her visiphone.

"Rosalyn. This is Mary in Omnichron R&D. It's urgent that I speak with the Director."

"Ok, I'll hold."

Rosalyn pushed the button on her desk intercom. "Mr. Blake, Mary from Omnichron R&D is on the line. She says it's urgent."

The Director responded. "Thank you Rosalyn."

The Director pushed a button on his visiphone. Suddenly an image of Mary was displayed in front of him. "Hi Mary, it's John. What can I do for you today?"

"Sir, we have a major problem here in the lab." Mary stated with an urgent tone.

"It must be pretty bad if you have to involve me. What is it?" Blake asked.

"It's gone!" She exclaimed. For a brief moment there was total silence on the visiphone.

"What's gone, Mary?" He asked.

"The ACS100! It's gone, John!"

"Are you sure? Maybe your employees are pulling a prank on you." He stated.

"No, sir. It's no prank. It's definitely gone, not here, vanished! My technicians and I have looked everywhere and it's no-where to be found!"

"Mary, this is very serious, as you probably well know by now. The ramifications of this prototype getting into the wrong hands are well… unthinkable." Blake said seriously. "For the moment, take some time to calm yourself, then you will need to start gathering your facts so that we can begin our investigation. While you are proceeding with those tasks, I will contact Chancellor Garth and inform him of the situation."

"I'm terribly sorry sir. We have taken every necessary precaution to safeguard this prototype." Mary said with remorse.

Mr. Blake, sensing Mary was trying to blame herself for the incident, began to reassure her. "Mary, whatever you do, please, don't worry. I know how well you run that department. I also know all the procedures and protocols are followed to the letter by both you and your technicians. I can only say this must have been accomplished by a professional."

"Thank you sir." She replied softly.

"Excuse me, but I have a call to make. I will contact you later." Blake said before his image disappeared.

The director pushed the button on his visiphone and Mary's image disappeared. Then he pushed several buttons on his visiphone and another woman appeared on his screen.

"Chancellor Garth's office. How may I help you?"

"This is John Blake at Voyager Technical, is professor…umm…I mean Chancellor Garth available." He asked.

"The assistant smiled. I understand sir. I make that mistake all the time. It's hard to stop calling him professor." She said reassuringly.

"I know, ma'am. By chance is he available? It's urgent that I speak with him." Blake repeated.

"Sir he is in. Just one moment." She said as she rose from her seat and walked quietly to the door of Garth's office. She knocked softly as she peeked inside.

Chancellor Garth's office was decorated in a style that was reminiscent of a home library of 20th century Earth. The walls were adorned with richly stained wood panels. A small settee with leather upholstery was placed underneath a nearby window and was framed by two small side tables. A small, yet modest chandelier hung from the ceiling above. His desk, an antique he had acquired during his years at Voyager Academy, was made of solid oak and showed the obvious signs of use over a period of years. On the wall behind his desk, was a large gold 'V', the Voyager insignia. These sparse and rather plain furnishings reflected the simplistic way he lived his own life. He unlike most was less concerned with the acquisition of possessions and material wealth. Instead, he believed that knowledge, understanding and wisdom were much more valuable in life.

"Chancellor Garth."

"Yes, ma'am."

"John Blake is on line 1. He says it's urgent."

"Thank you, ma'am."

Garth pushed the button on his visiphone. Mr. Blake appeared on the screen in front of him.

"Mr. Blake. What a nice surprise. What can I do for you today?" He asked.

"Well sir. We have a small problem." Blake replied.

"Really. What's all the fuss about?"

"Chancellor Garth, sir. You are familiar with the latest work coming out of the Omni R&D department?"

"Yes, you mean their latest prototype omni, the ACS100? Right?" Chancellor Garth replied.

"Yes, sir!"

"I'm very familiar with it. I have been briefed on it on several occasions."

"Well sir, it's been stolen." Blake said with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Stolen? How? Are you sure?" Chancellor Garth asked.

"Yes sir, very sure. My supervisor in the Omni R&D department just contacted me minutes ago and informed me of the bad news."

Chancellor Garth sat back in his chair and shook his head in disbelief. "Mr. Blake, this is serious... very serious. Do you have any suspects at this point?"

"No, sir, none as of this moment, but we are gathering information as we speak."

"Besides yourself, how many others have knowledge of this theft?" Chancellor Garth asked.

"At the moment, Mary in R & D and her two technicians are the only ones aware of the situation."

"Good, Good! The fewer people who know about this the better. Only those who are directly involved should know the details."

"Sir, I totally agree." Blake replied.

"Have you contacted internal security?" Chancellor Garth asked.

"No sir, I wanted to inform you of the situation first. I was going to contact Supervisor Henderson once we finished our conversation here."

"Your decision to contact me first was the correct course of action. With that said, go ahead and contact security and fill them in on what has happened. Maybe they can help with the investigation. In the meantime, I will get in touch with the other members of the Council and see if we can schedule a meeting sometime later today to discuss this. As soon as I know anything, I will let you know."

"Thank you sir. We will do our best to find the culprit."

"I'm sure you will, Mr. Blake. You run a tight ship over at VT, and I have every confidence that you will succeed. We will be in touch." Chancellor Garth said before his image left the screen.

"Goodbye Chancellor."

Director Blake sat back in his chair for a moment and looked off into the distance as he began to ponder the current situation. After a few moments, he took a deep breath and then contacted the supervisor of the security department. Seconds later, the image of a young man appeared on his visiphone.

"Security. Lowell speaking. How may I help you, sir?"

"This is Director Blake. I need to speak to Supervisor Henderson. It's urgent."

"Sure sir. Just one moment." Lowell replied.

"James Henderson here. Oh…Director Blake… What can I do for you today?" He asked.

"James. We've had an incident here during the night."

"What kind of incident?" Henderson asked.

"Well someone has gained access to the Omni R&D department after hours and has stolen one of our prototype omnis, the ACS100."

"Director Blake, I have had no reports of any intruders during the night, but, when we finish here, I will check the logbooks from last night and make some inquiries." Henderson replied. "I take it this omni must be pretty special, since I haven't heard a word about it until now."

"James, not only is it special, but, in the wrong hands, it could cause a great deal of problems. We must find it at all costs. It must not fall into the hands of the criminal element on the planet." Blake said gravely.

"I get the picture. Let me do some investigating and I will get back with you later, if that is ok."

"Let me know as soon as you find out anything." Blake said.

Supervisor Henderson walked out of his office and down the hall to Command Central. The two guards from the prior evening were still on duty.

"Lowell, Jack, we have a problem. I need you to pull the logbooks from last night. I want to examine them." Henderson said in a state of urgency.

"Sir, what's wrong?" Lowell asked.

"Well. Sometime during the night, someone gained access to the Omni R&D Lab and stole a very important piece of equipment."

"The two guards looked at their supervisor in disbelief."

"How could that have happened, sir? We were here in the building all night long." Lowell stated.

"Yes, and we both made our regular rounds." Jack confirmed. "Here sir, these are our logbooks from last evening."

Henderson thumbed through the logbooks and after a few moments, closed them, and put them on the counter.

"Well everything looks to be in order. Did you see or hear anything unusual during the night?" He asked.

"Sir, I had a very strange incident to occur while I made one of my rounds. In fact, it

happened just as I walked past the Omni R&D Lab." Jack replied.

"Ok, Jack, tell me what happened." Henderson prompted.

"Sir, as I passed the door, I heard a noise coming from inside. I peeked through the window, but the lights were off and I couldn't see anything. At that point, I unlocked the door and went in with my weapon in one hand and my flashlight in another. I looked all around, but saw nothing unusual, so I closed and locked the door and went on my way."

"Then what happened?" He asked.

"Nothing. I finished my rounds and came back here. I told Lowell about it and then made an entry in the logbook." Jack replied.

At that moment, Lowell interrupted. "Wait a minute. There was something else."

"Ok. I'm listening." Henderson said curiously.

"It was one thing I thought was very odd. While Jack was making his rounds, he didn't show up on any of the monitors here in Command Central nor was he recorded on any of the video log tapes. When he came back to Central, I teased him about going off somewhere and sleeping on the job, since I had not seen him anywhere. He reassured me, quite emphatically I might add, he had made his rounds and began to tell me of the noise he had heard."

"Then what did you do." Henderson asked.

"Well, sir. At this point, we decided to run a diagnostic on all the monitors and cameras in the building. The results were negative. All equipment was functioning perfectly."

"Thank you, gentlemen. That will be all for now." Henderson said before he left the area. "If you think of anything else, let me know.

"We will, sir."

Supervisor Henderson walked back to his office and contacted Director Blake.

"Director Blake's office…Rosalyn speaking. How may I help you."

"Rosalyn, this is Security Supervisor Henderson here. Can I speak to Director Blake?"

"Yes sir, just a moment." She replied as she contacted the director on her intercom.

"Yes Rosalyn." Blake said.

"Sir. Supervisor Henderson is on line 1"

"Thank you. Rosalyn." Blake said as he pushed a button and an image of Supervisor Henderson was displayed in front of him.

"Sir, I have been speaking with the guards who were on duty last night. And as much as I hate to inform you, I believe something out of the ordinary did occur." Henderson explained.

"What was it?" Blake asked.

"A couple of unusual and unexplained events occurred last evening. First, as one of my guards made his rounds, he heard a sound emanating from within the lab. He went in and looked around, but found no sign of anyone and nothing out of the ordinary." He explained.

"That's interesting." Blake replied.

"That's not all. There was a strange malfunction with the building cameras and monitors last evening. While my guard made his rounds, he was not seen on any of the monitors, however his logs show otherwise."

"He made it to all of his required checkpoints?" Blake asked.

"Yes sir. All log entries were confirmed by the appropriate embossed seal. And you know the only way that seal can be placed on a log is with a thumbprint scan at the appropriate checkpoint."

"Yes, it's a foolproof system." Blake agreed. "What about the cameras and monitors? Did they run a diagnostic to see if there was an equipment malfunction?"

"Yes, they did run a diagnostic, but it came up negative. No equipment malfunctions were noted. Sir, if I may make a suggestion."

"By all means, James. If it will help with this investigation, please do."

"My suggestion is that you get someone from IS & T to look into what happened to the equipment last night. Maybe one of their technicians can figure it out."

"That's a good idea. And I know just the person in IS & T to recruit for this task." Blake said boldly. "James, thanks for your effort. We will speak again."

"Thank you sir. If I can be of further assistance, please let me know."

Director Blake pushed a button on his visiphone and the image of Henderson disappeared.


	6. Conflicts of Interest

****

_VOYAGERS!_ - The Voyager Chronicles  
THE CRIME OF ALL TIME - BOOK 3  
(Sequel to Tastes of Freedom)  
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
October 2007 (Revised 05/2009)  
Previous disclaimers apply

**Chapter 5 – CONFLICTS OF INTEREST**

Director Blake had spent the better part of the morning on the visiphone in what seemed like a never-ending whirlwind of conversations. Now feeling drained and quickly coming down off his usual morning caffeine high, he needed a break if only for a short time. Slowly, he got up from his chair and made his way down the hallway to the break room. After pouring himself a fresh cup of coffee and grabbing the last Danish in the box, he returned to his office to continue his mission. After taking a bite of the confection and enjoying every flavorful morsel, he took a sip of his brew. Upon putting down his cup, he once again pushed a button on his visiphone. Shortly afterward, a young lady appeared and began to speak.

"I S & T department. This is Monica, how may I help you?"

"This is Director Blake. Is Mr. Davis available?"

"Yes sir. Please hold while I get him for you."

The screen went blank for a moment and then Mr. Davis' image appeared.

"Director Blake. What can I do for you today, sir?" Davis asked.

"Charles, without getting into a lot of detail. Let me just say we had a piece of equipment stolen from the Omni R&D lab last night. In addition to that, we have had some very strange problems with the security system equipment."

"Problems with the equipment? I've not received any reports about it. What happened?" He asked.

"Well, one of the guards went on his rounds last evening and even though the log shows he visited every checkpoint, he was not seen on any of the security cameras."

"I must say, that is quite unusual." Davis replied, intrigued by it all. "Do you think there is a connection? You know between the theft and the camera problems."

"I do!" Blake strongly affirmed. "That's why I contacted you. I wanted to ask if you would lend me that whiz kid you have on staff to take a look at the equipment and see if he can determine what happened."

"You mean Mallory?" Davis asked.

"Yes, that's the guy, Mallory. Rumor has it he makes Einstein of 20th century Earth look like a first year student."

"It's no rumor. He is quite an intelligent person and a real asset to my department. I would be more than happy to loan him out to you."

"Charles, I would appreciate it if you could send him over as soon as possible, if not sooner."

"No problem. I'll go speak with him immediately." Davis said.

"Thanks, Charles. I owe you one."

Director Blake pushed the button on his visiphone and the image disappeared. He sat back in his chair and breathed a sigh of relief.

Supervisor Davis rose from his chair. He exited his office and walked down the hallway to the VisiPod assigned to young Mallory. Upon reaching the door, which had been left partially open, he peered inside and noticed Mallory working feverishly at his task. He quietly knocked on the door. Startled somewhat, Mallory turned and looked at his boss.

"Uhh…Mr. Davis. I'm just about to finish that project." Mallory said, with a tremor in his voice.

"Calm yourself son. I'm not here to discuss that. As a matter of fact, that project can wait. I have something more important for you to work on." Davis reassured.

Mallory sat there for a moment with a bewildered look on his face.

"More important?" He asked.

"Yes. I just received a call from Director Blake. He has a small problem he needs you to look into."

"Me?" Mallory asked. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. He even asked for you personally." Davis said as he walked over and sat down in the chair next to Mallory.

"Shawn. I want you to put some thought into what I am about to tell you."

"Yes sir."

"You my young friend, have obviously been noticed and most importantly, by the Director himself."

"Ok, sir…I don't follow."

"You have been in my department for what, some five years now."

"Yes, sir and I have enjoyed working for you."

"Thank you. I really do appreciate that. However for all intents and purposes, you have gone as high as you can go here at I S & T. As much as I hate to lose you as an employee, I can't help but think this is a stepping stone to greater things.

"I see." Mallory said solemnly.

"An opportunity like this does not present itself very often. So I guess what I'm trying to say is take advantage of the gift that has been given to you."

"I will, sir. Can you tell me about this assignment?" Mallory asked.

"No, I will let the Director explain that to you. For now, though, find a stopping point in your work here and get yourself quickly over to his office."

Supervisor Davis stood and patted Mallory on the shoulder before he walked out the door.

"Remember, don't screw this up."

"I won't sir, believe me, I won't." Mallory replied as Davis walked out the door.

Mallory quickly began to straighten his desk. He grabbed a notebook and a pen from the drawer and ran out of his VisiPod.

---------------

The Director's office was located on the third floor of the east wing of the building. Normally it would have been about a ten minute walk to reach his destination. However, this was not the case today. The young Mallory, so excited by what his boss had told him, ran to the Director's office as if he were attempting to win a marathon. He entered the building, caught the first elevator to the third floor and then walked down the hallway until he reached the grand, ornate doors of the Director's office. Pausing briefly, he took a deep breath in an attempt to calm his nerves. Upon taking hold of one of the large gold knobs, he slowly opened the door and went in. Once inside, Rosalyn, who was sitting behind a large mahogany desk adorned with shiny brass accents looked up from her work and noticed him.

"Why Shawn…What brings you here?" Rosalyn asked, quite surprised to see him.

"Well, I had a message the Director wanted to see me." He replied. "Supposedly he has some project for me to work on."

"It is highly unusual for the Director to single out a specific person for a project. Highly unusual!" Rosalyn stated. "It's a good possibility this could lead to something bigger and better for you at Voyager Technical."

"I know, believe me. My supervisor said the same thing just minutes ago. He ended his little pep talk by telling me this was a golden opportunity and not to screw it up."

"That was very sage advice he gave you and very true indeed." She replied. "Why don't you have a seat on the sofa while I inform the Director of your arrival?"

"Thank you, Rosalyn" Mallory said as he took up a position on the sofa.

Rosalyn contacted the Director on her intercom.

"Mr. Blake?"

"Yes, Rosalyn."

"Mr. Mallory is here to see you."

"Thank you Rosalyn. Please show him in."

"Shawn, Director Blake will see you now." She said warmly as she rose from her chair. "If you will, please come this way."

Rosalyn walked over and opened the door to the Director's office and escorted young Mallory inside.

"Ahh! Mr. Mallory!" Blake exclaimed as he stood up and greeted the young technician. "Please, come in and have a seat."

Rosalyn walked toward the door and suddenly turned around.

"Sir, could I get the two of you something to drink? There is a fresh pot of coffee in the break room."

"Mallory, care for some coffee?" Blake asked.

"No, I'm fine, thank you sir."

"No, Rosalyn, I guess we are ok for now. Thank you."

Rosalyn quietly exited the room and gently closed the door behind her.

Director Blake sat back down in his chair and put his arms in front of him on his desk.

"Mr. Mallory. I guess you are wondering why I have called you here today."

"Well sir, I was told you had some sort of project for me to work on." Mallory said innocently.

"Yes, I have a project for you. For many years now, I have been made well aware of your technological skills. Based on my reports, you are one of the most knowledgeable people in your field here at Voyager Technical. It is for that reason I have picked you for this project.

"I'm shocked, sir, yet flattered by your compliments." Mallory replied. "What's this project all about?"

"Mr. Mallory. The information that I am about to share with you is of a very sensitive nature. I must have your word here and now that this information will go no further than this room. You must not discuss this with anyone in your department or anyone outside Voyager Technical. Before I can proceed further, do I have your word that you will keep this information a secret? " Blake said as he swore him to secrecy.

"Yes sir, I agree. It will go no further than this room." Mallory pledged.

"Ok, I have brought you here to help with an investigation."

"An investigation?" Mallory asked. "What are we investigating?"

"Several months ago, our Omni R & D department started work on a special prototype omni at the request of our government."

"You mean the ACS100." Mallory confirmed.

Stunned by Mallory's knowledge of this top secret project, he asked. "How did you know about that? It's supposed to be secret."

"I know sir, but most everyone at Voyager Technical has some knowledge of its existence." Mallory reported in a sort of blasé fashion.

"Well, I will need to tighten the security measures around here once our problem has been resolved. But, that's a project for another day. Now, back to our current problem."

"Please sir, do continue." Mallory urged.

"We have had a situation to occur overnight here at Voyager Technical. Somehow, someone broke into the building and stole the ACS100 from the R & D lab."

Taken aback by what he had just heard, Mallory began to feel a bit uneasy. He had no idea the Director was going to discuss the events of the prior evening. As the Director continued, Mallory painted a rather concerned, yet puzzled look on his face in an attempt to disguise his true feelings at the moment.

Mallory cleared his throat. "Someone stole the ACS100?" He asked with a somewhat raspy voice. "How could that happen?"

"Mr. Mallory, we are still attempting to determine that. That's where you come in. So, please let me continue." Blake said impatiently.

"I'm sorry, sir, please continue."

"As I said, someone broke into the building last night and stole the ACS100. In addition, there is no record of any alarms going off, nor is there any video showing the alleged perpetrator in action."

"Wow, sir!" Mallory exclaimed. "Our security system here is virtually foolproof and has been so for many years. No one would dare attempt to subvert it. With all its backup systems and redundancy, it would be nearly impossible to deactivate it."

"My feelings exactly Mr. Mallory. But somehow, someone has found a way to get around the system and has pulled off, in my opinion, the crime of all time."

"Do you have any other details about the theft?" Mallory asked curiously.

"Yes. Some sort of unidentified malfunction occurred with the security camera system last evening. We have paper logs of the security guards making rounds, but there is no video footage showing them anywhere in the building. We have narrowed the time of the malfunction down to sometime between 9:00 and 10:00 pm."

Mallory, whose stomach was now tied in knots after hearing the details of the Paradox heist he had been involved in, fidgeted in his chair.

"Mr. Mallory, are you ok. You seem a little bit distracted at the moment." Blake asked.

"I'm ok sir. I've been sitting pretty much all morning and my legs are just a little bit numb."

"By all means take a moment to stand up and walk around." Blake urged. "I can continue to explain as you get your blood circulating again."

Mallory slowly walked around the room, pretending to have numbness in his limbs as the Director continued to speak.

"So now you know the story. I'd like to hear your thoughts on the situation." Blake prompted.

"Well sir, did anyone attempt to run a diagnostic on the equipment?"

"Yes. According to Supervisor Henderson, after the malfunction was discovered, a full diagnostic was run. It came up negative."

"Hmmmm. Interesting."

"Mr. Mallory, what I need you to do is to dive inside the security system and snoop around for clues to explain what happened last evening. We need to know specifics as to how this theft was pulled off, who did it and how we can prevent it from happening again."

"I understand sir." Mallory acknowledged. "When do you want me to start?"

"Now…Mr. Mallory….If not sooner!" He exclaimed. "You will have the full resources of Voyager Technical at your disposal."

"Thank you sir. I will begin immediately."

"I will want a progress report first thing in the morning." Blake said as he stood up and escorted the young technician to the door.

"Not a problem, sir" Mallory replied as he made his way to the door.

"I will contact you tomorrow."

Mallory opened the door and walked outside. After this meeting, he now sported a rather perplexed, serious look on his face. Rosalyn, noticing her young friend, rose from her seat and walked over to greet him.

"Well. How was the meeting?" She asked.

"Ok…I guess" Mallory said despondently.

"Ok! C'mon Shawn, you look as if you just lost your best friend."

"It's ok Roz…I've just got a lot to think about and I'm a little bit overwhelmed at the moment."

"I don't believe my ears! Shawn Mallory, the smartest whiz-kid here at VT, overwhelmed?" Rosalyn exclaimed, unable to believe what she had just heard.

"It's just not possible. Are you running a fever?" She walked over and put her hand on his forehead to feel his temperature.

"Obviously you don't have a temperature… So what gives here?" She asked.

"Don't worry Roz, I'm quite healthy." Mallory reassured. "Like I said, I'm just a bit overwhelmed at the moment."

"Maybe we could go somewhere for lunch and talk about it? Would that help?"

"I would love to have lunch with you Roz, but I cannot discuss what was said inside the Director's office."

"Oh….I understand… It's top-secret." She said. "But that's no excuse why we can't have lunch."

"Ok, you've talked me into it. What time?" He asked excitedly.

"Well, what about now? In five more minutes it will be my lunch hour. Let me tell the Director and we'll be on our way."

"Ok."

Rosalyn contacted the Director on her intercom.

"Mr. Blake."

"Yes, Rosalyn."

"Do you mind if I take my lunch a little early today? I've got some business to attend to."

"No, you go ahead. I'll hold down the fort until you get back. Oh, don't forget, I have a meeting at 1:00." He said.

"I won't. Thank you sir, I'll be back shortly."

Rosalyn turned to Mallory. "C'mon, everything's ok, let's go!"

The two friends left the Director's office and made their way to a nearby restaurant for lunch. After seating themselves, they ordered their food and patiently waited for it to arrive. During this time they began to converse amongst themselves.

"So, Shawn, I know you cannot talk about your new project, but, did the Director give you any hints about a promotion?"

Mallory sat there, staring at his reflection in an empty charger plate, thinking about his current predicament. He had not heard Rosalyn's question.

"Shawn! What's wrong?" She asked with concern.

Mallory was startled by Rosalyn's persistence. "Uh…What?…What did you say?"

"What's wrong, Shawn? You have been sitting there for quite a while now, staring at that plate. You have hardly said a word to me."

Mallory looked over at the love of his life and tried to explain himself. He was still troubled by what the Director had discussed with him. As he spoke, his tone was sullen and his expression blank, which was indicative of his current emotional state.

"I'm sorry Roz. I've just got a lot on my mind now. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea for us to have lunch. I'm not the best of lunch dates at this moment."

"Oh, so now the truth comes out. You think this is a 'date'." Rosalyn said with a smile. "Is that what's eating at you? You think I'm trying to put the move on you."

"No, Roz. That's not it! Besides, anytime you want to put the move on me, I'm ready and willing to receive." Mallory replied with a smile on his face.

"So, why the long face?" She asked.

Mallory sat there for a moment, trying to figure out a way to talk about his current situation to his long-time friend without breaking his vow to the Director.

"I have an issue that I don't know how to resolve."

"I'm listening Shawn."

"Have you ever been in a situation say, where you promised a friend that you would do something in good faith, then some other issue comes up and causes you to have to break that promise?" Mallory asked, in a vague sort of way.

"Well, yes, I have had that to happen on many occasions."

"How did YOU handle it?" He asked.

"First you go to your friend and try to explain the situation. If they are a true friend, they will understand."

At that point, the server arrived at the table with their meal.

"Ok Shawn, enough of this gloomy talk… Let's enjoy our meal." Rosalyn urged.

"Ok…" Shawn replied. He reached over and took hold of his friends' hand and looked into her eyes. "Roz, I'm sorry for the lousy mood I'm in."

Rosalyn put down her fork. "That's ok, Shawn, what are friends for."

"Well, when it comes right down to it, I believe it's a little more than just friendship."

"What do you mean, Shawn?" Rosalyn asked, her cheeks now a bit flushed.

"I think you already know what I mean. I know I have never said this to you before, but…Roz…I've fallen in love with you."

Rosalyn put her hand to her bosom, shocked by Mallory's statement.

"Why Shawn Mallory…I'm… I'm speechless. Shocked, but speechless." She exclaimed.

"I have wanted to say that to you for some time now."

Rosalyn took hold of Mallory's other hand, looked deeply into his eyes and began to speak. "Shawn, I never thought I would ever hear you say those words to me. Your honesty has also moved me to the point that I have something to tell you also"

"What's that, Roz?"

"I too have fallen in love with you." She said softly.

Mallory's eyes suddenly lit up with excitement, his expression a far cry from what it was earlier. The two began to laugh in disbelief.

"Oh Roz, I love you!" Mallory repeated.

"Shawn, I love you too!" Rosalyn echoed.

The two moved closer to each other as they pressed lips in a passionate kiss across the table. Some moments passed and the two slowly separated and sat back in their seats with a glazed look in their eyes.

Mallory took a deep breath. "Well, now that we've got that out on the table, shouldn't we start enjoying our meal before it gets cold?"

"Yes, I think that's a good idea." Rosalyn replied in a dreamy, hypnotic state.

She picked up her fork once again and began to eat.

For the remainder of their lunch hour, Rosalyn and Mallory sat and enjoyed their meal along with each other's conversation, which was at some times quite lively. Once they finished, each took a sip of their drink and sat back in their chairs.

"That was a delicious meal. Don't you think?" She asked.

"Yes! It was a great meal in the company of a beautiful person." He complimented.

"You're so sweet, Shawn." She said as she glanced down at her watch.

"Oh, my! I'm late!" Rosalyn exclaimed. "I've got to get back to the office. Mr. Blake has an important meeting to attend in ten minutes."

Rosalyn got up from her chair and grabbed her purse. In a gentleman-like manner, Mallory stood up, and ran over to pull the chair from under her.

"I'm sorry to have to end our little date so abruptly. I hope you will forgive me."

"It's ok Roz. Please think nothing of it. Besides, I must get back to my 'pod and begin working on my new project." Mallory said, reassuringly.

"See you later, then. Ok?" Rosalyn said as she turned and quickly walked away.

"Yes, later then." He replied.

Mallory started his journey back to the office. After a time, the warm thoughts of Roz suddenly began to fade and were replaced by those of his current predicament. With each passing step, a new notion jumped to the forefront of his mind. He continued to slowly make his way down the sidewalk until he came upon a small bench and decided to take advantage of the opportunity to rest for a moment. While he sat there, his mind now overtaken by an onslaught of emotions, he began to question his decision to join Paradox.

He had originally joined the group, simply because he thought it was the right thing to do. For quite some time, he had been well aware of the corruption which had permeated the government. 'What civilization in history hasn't had its share of that?' He thought. He knew that the only way he could help bring change to his world was to get involved. To do so, he had to join with a group who shared his ideals and beliefs. That was Paradox. Or was it? So far, the actions of this group had been truly criminal in nature, which went against every moral fiber of his being. 'Were they really working to change the government or to satisfy their own interests?' He thought. If it was the latter, they were no better than those who currently occupied the hallowed halls of the current government.

As he sat there, he tried with all his might to force his mind to abandon this line of thinking. He knew he was allowing his imagination to get the best of him. He began to think once again of Roz, the love of his life and the confessions the two had shared with each other over lunch. No matter how hard he tried, his thoughts would always return to his current dilemma. 'Why did this have to occur now?' He thought. To be recognized by the Director of Voyager Technical and assigned to a project of this magnitude was the mother of all opportunities. 'What am I going to do? How can I be my own investigator? He wants a progress report tomorrow morning. How can I provide him with the information he wants, without incriminating myself in the process?' The questions kept coming. The answers though were few and far between at most.

Mallory quickly jumped to his feet and started walking once again. This little respite on the bench had done nothing more than to further tax his brain as well as make him late. Moments later, he had arrived at the front entrance of his building. Reaching for the door handle in an attempt to open it, he realized he had barely enough strength to do so. He was both physically and mentally spent from the battle he had fought in his mind. Upon reaching inside and summoning up the last bit of strength he had, he was finally able to open the door. Once inside, he straightened his attire, smoothed back his hair and began to walk confidently down the long hallway to the elevator. As he reached the elevator, the doors opened and he stepped inside. A few seconds later, he arrived at his floor, exited and walked to his Visipod. Once back at his desk, he sat down in front of his computer terminal, logged in and began to type. 'A plan…I need a plan!', he thought. 'How am I going to get out of this one?'

After a period of time, he ceased typing, put his hands behind his head and sat back in his chair. "What AM I going to do?" He said out-loud.

A few more minutes passed. With his mind still locked in mental torment, an idea finally hit him. "I've got it!" He said to himself. 'No one knows I was the one who rigged the security system' He thought. 'I erased all traces of my access to the system. So for all intents and purposes, it could have been anyone who could have accomplished this task. All I need to do is to just provide the information about the situation to the Director, in a slow, well-paced manner.'

Mallory focused his attention back to his computer screen and began to create his first progress report to the Director. As he composed the report, he began to poke around on the Voyager computer network and in the security system so that the traces of his investigation could easily be found.

Several hours later, he finished the first part of his investigation. After putting the finishing touches on his progress report to the Director, he straightened his desk and left for the day. Even though he had ended his workday at Voyager Technical, his extracurricular activities had just begun. Another important meeting was to take place at Paradox HQ tonight, and he was expected to be there promptly.


	7. A Premature Celebration

****

_VOYAGERS!_ - The Voyager Chronicles  
THE CRIME OF ALL TIME - BOOK 3  
(Sequel to Tastes of Freedom)  
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
October 2007 (Revised 05/2009)  
Previous disclaimers apply

**Chapter 6 – A PREMATURE CELEBRATION**

Mallory arrived at Paradox headquarters somewhat earlier than normal. As he made his way into the room, he was greeted by Evans who, along with Ian and Doc were sitting alone at the table.

"Well, if it isn't the young whiz-kid. He did make it after all." Doc said with his usual charm and wit.

Mallory's brow furled as he glared at the irreverent Voyager.

"Yea, I'm here and if it wasn't for my efforts last night, you definitely wouldn't be here now. So get over it."

"Oooooh, aren't we touchy this evening?" Doc said as he nodded his head from side to side.

Max walked through the door just in time to hear Doc's comments. "Doc, leave the kid alone. He did an excellent job of helping us get into the building last night. Impressive work, Mallory."

"Thank you Max." Mallory replied.

"Hey, Max, what about you and I." Doc exclaimed. "We did all the hard work. All the kid here had to do was push a few buttons."

Pressure was building up inside Mallory's head as whisps of steam could be seen emanating from his ears. He attempted to respond to Doc's latest ramblings but was cut off in mid-sentence by Max.

"Yea Doc, we did all the hard work… oh, excuse me, did I say we, I really meant I…" Max replied, his voice full of contempt.

"What? You did all the work. HA! Right!" Doc grumbled.

"Ok big man… Who carried all the tools and equipment?" Max asked curtly.

"Uhhhh, well… You did." Doc replied.

"And when you knocked over that box of parts in the lab, like a clumsy oaf…who warned you someone was coming?"

"Uhhh…You did."

"And when the job was done… Who carried all of the tools and equipment back here to Headquarters?"

"I guess you did." Doc said dispassionately. "Hey! That's not fair… Don't I get any credit for picking the locks?"

"Nope… Not only that, but, unlike Mr. Mallory here, you could not have known which buttons to press any more than I would have. So lay off the kid… Got it!" Max said staunchly.

"Hmmmph!" Doc grunted, thoroughly aggravated with Max's comments.

"Gentlemen!" Drake shouted as he entered the room with boldness. "Let's not celebrate too soon. We have won one battle, but not the war."

"Yea, but what a battle it was." Doc quipped.

"I believe it's time that we get started." Drake urged as he glared at the comical Doc. "We have much to discuss."

Drake walked over and stood in front of the group. He held up the ACS100 as he began to speak.

"Thanks to the efforts of Doc, Max and Mr. Mallory here, we now have THIS lovely little device in our possession. Isn't it beautiful? The latest, greatest thing to come out of Voyager Technical in years and it's ours to use as we see fit."

Doc sat back in his chair, sporting a hint of skepticism. "So now that we've went to all the trouble to steal this…this confounded piece of equipment, how is it going to help us?"

Drake rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Well, Doc. I was just about to get to that part… If you would let me continue." He said as he chastised the Voyager sternly.

"Yea Doc, shut your cake hole and let him continue." Max scolded.

Doc grumbled a little under his breath and quickly became silent.

Drake continued with his explanation. "After acquiring the ACS100, we are now ready to implement phase two of our plan. This little piece of hardware will give us the means by which to upset the applecart so to speak."

"Gentlemen, the next phase of our plan involves putting Mission Control out of business."

"Mission Control?" Ian asked, somewhat confused. "I don't understand. Why are we going after Mission Control? We want to take over the government, not change history."

"In order to take out the government, we must systematically destroy its foundations." Drake said as he clenched his hands. "Mission Control is one of those critical areas."

"Ok, I see." Ian acknowledged.

"How do you propose we do that?" Doc asked. "We can't just waltz in and take over."

Drake could not believe his ears. "By no means are we just going to walk in and take over. There is a better way. We must catch them off guard and pull the rug out from under those folks, so to speak. And here's how we do it."

Mallory, I want you to tap into the Mission Control computer system and get a list of all events currently in need of correction. Can you accomplish that?"

"No problem, sir." Mallory responded.

"Can you also find out which field personnel have been assigned to correct each problem?"

"Again, sir. No problem."

"Ian, Doc, I will need your assistance to find a spot suitable to hold prisoners." Drake said as he recruited them for the task. "It must be a place of maximum security. We definitely don't want any of our prisoners to escape."

"Sir, how many prisoners are we talking about?" Ian asked.

"I'd say, by the time we finish our task, about 75 or possibly more." Drake replied.

"Hey, I know the perfect place!" Doc interrupted. "It's in the 20th century Earth time zone. I believe it was called Alcatraz Island."

"Good, Good!" Drake replied as he paced around the table, with an evil smile on his face.

"Kidnapping…Prisoners? Evans asked curiously. "What's this all about?"

"Patience! I'm about to get to that part." Drake quipped impatiently.

"Here's where the ACS100 comes into play. Max, you will take the ACS100 and using its cloaking technology, go into each of the time zones where field personnel have been dispatched and kidnap them one by one. Once you have captured each Voyager, you will confiscate his omni and transport them to the location where Ian and Doc will be waiting. In doing so, we will systematically take out the vast majority of the Mission Control field personnel and bring their operations to a screeching halt.

"What a plan!" Max exclaimed, completely awestruck. Only a master like Drake here could have contrived such a plan. They won't know what hit them."

"Yes, that's the idea. By the time they realize what is going on it will be too late. It will be a catastrophe and there will be nothing they can do to stop it.

Max looked at the malevolent Drake and interrupted him. "I have a question. Won't Mission Control be able to trace the movement of the ACS100 through time?"

"That's a good question. The answer is NO." Drake replied. "When they built the ACS100, they designed it so that the person using it could not be detected or tracked as they carried out their assignments. A slight, somewhat inept oversight on their part, as I see it."

"So let me get this straight…" Max continued. "I will take this list from Mallory and go into each time zone, cloaked so no one can detect me. Then kidnap the assigned field personnel, confiscate their omni and transport them back to Ian and Doc to be held prisoner."

"That's the plan." Drake acknowledged.

"Ok, what's to stop them from finding us by tracking each of the omnis we confiscate?" Ian asked.

"Excuse me, but, when I said you will be confiscating their omnis, I didn't mean you would be bringing them with you." Drake quipped. "Just take it from them and leave it in the time zone where you found them."

"Mr. Drake, when do we start?" Evans asked.

"Once Mallory has tapped into the Mission Control computer and retrieved the needed information, we can begin operations…say tomorrow morning."

"Great! I'll be ready." Max said with an onslaught of excitement in his voice.

Unless there are any other questions or concerns, this will conclude our meeting. Doc, Ian, if you will get started preparing this Alcatraz to receive our guests, we can be ready to begin tomorrow morning."

"We will go immediately and begin preparations." Ian announced. "C'mon Doc, let's get a move on.

"Do we have to go right now?" Doc asked cynically. "Can't we at least get a few hours of sleep first?"

"No Doc, let's go." Ian urged as he grabbed Doc by the shoulder and pulled him toward him.

Ian pulled a pirated omni from his pocket, grabbed his partner's arm and they vanished.

Drake turned to Max for a moment. "Max, if you will remain behind for a moment, I'll explain the ACS100 functions to you."

"Sure, no problem!" Max affirmed.

"I'll go online and get that list you wanted." Mallory said before turning to his friend Evans. "But first, I need to speak to Evans here."

"Good…Mallory." Drake acknowledged as he and Max went off into another room.

"You wanted to discuss something with me, Mallory?" Evans asked.

"Yes, and I wanted to do so in the utmost confidence."

"Sounds like a problem."

"You could say that."

Evans walked over and pulled up a chair beside young Mallory as he was attempting to access the Mission Control Computer.

"Voyager Technical has started an internal investigation into the ACS100 theft." Mallory whispered.

"I see. That was to be expected, however, they sure didn't waste any time."

"Well, they know about what I did to the security system." Mallory said nervously.

"They know you did it?" Evans asked with some concern.

"No, they don't know that I was the one who actually did it, but they do know something was done." Mallory whispered rather excitedly. "They have proof. Their security guards made rounds last night and there was no video tape footage to indicate they did so."

"Calm yourself Mallory. Everything is ok." He reassured.

"No, that's just it. It's not ok. The Director of Voyager Technical summoned me to his office today. He wants me to investigate these so-called malfunctions and determine how they happened and if possible, who did it. He wants a progress report in the morning."

Evans put his hand on Mallory's shoulder. "You do have a problem there. Have you figured out how are you going to handle it?"

"Well, yes. I have a plan I believe will work, however, I wanted to run it by you to see what you think."

"Sure. So what's the plan?" Evans asked.

"I have decided to go through the motions of an investigation and give him the information he's looking for, a little bit at a time."

"Sounds easy enough, especially since you already have all the facts. But, Shawn. Are you sure they have no way to connect you to the events that evening?"

"Don't worry. I made sure I left no trace of my access to the security system that night."

"Well, I'd say from the sound of it, you have all the bases covered." Evans concluded.

"So you think it's a sound plan?"

"Yes. I really can't think of any other way to handle this situation without opening yourself up to scrutiny. Go ahead with your plans, but keep me briefed on the situation."

"Thanks." Mallory whispered.

"Not a problem. Is there anything else you want to discuss?" Evans asked his friend.

"No, that's about it."

"Well, if we are done here, I must leave you to your work. I have much to do in preparation for tomorrow's undertaking."

Evans rose from his seat and left the room as Mallory resumed his efforts to produce the list Drake had requested.


	8. The Paradox Effect

****

_VOYAGERS!_ - The Voyager Chronicles  
THE CRIME OF ALL TIME - BOOK 3  
(Sequel to Tastes of Freedom)  
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
October 2007 (Revised 05/2009)  
Previous disclaimers apply

**Chapter 7 – THE PARADOX EFFECT**

It was a typical early morning in August. A warm breeze was tickling the leaves on the trees nearby as it made its way through the area. The darkness, thick as molasses, encompassed the land for as far as the eye could see. An eerie, somewhat ominous silence had once again taken up residence for the night. While most were still warmly tucked in their beds, fast asleep, a select few were now hard at work, preparing for the mission of a lifetime.

At a local military airstrip, the pilot of a lone B-29 aircraft started his engines and slowly began to taxi out onto the runway. Once the plane was perfectly aligned for take-off, it came to a stop, its massive propellers now running at idle.

"Tower, this is Enola Gay. Request clearance for take-off." The pilot said as he communicated with the tower.

"Roger…This is Tower...Please standby."

Aboard the plane twelve crew members completed their final tasks and strapped themselves in their seats in preparation for the long, perilous journey ahead of them.

Suddenly, one of the crew, dressed in grayish-green coveralls and black military boots, walked up and stood just inside the cockpit door.

"Sir!"

The pilot turned and looked back at the crewman.

"Yes, what is it, Smith?"

"We're ready for take-off, sir." Smith reported.

"Are you sure you checked everything?" The pilot asked, yelling over the noise of the engines.

"Yes sir. Everything is secure." Smith replied.

"What about Little Boy?"

"He's not going anywhere for now." Smith stated.

"Ok, you'd better go and strap yourself in. We'll be leaving soon."

"Yes sir!"

Crewman Smith turned and walked back to the rear of the plane. He sat down and before strapping himself in, reached underneath his jacket and pulled out a shiny brass object. Without being noticed, he opened his omni and checked it. Upon seeing a red light, he shook his head then quietly closed it and clipped it back onto his belt.

"Enola Gay, this is Tower. You are cleared for takeoff on runway 2. Good luck and safe journey"

"Roger that, tower. Thank you." The pilot acknowledged.

The pilot turned and looked at the crew seated in the back of the plane and gave them a confident thumbs-up. They in turn returned the gesture, indicating they were ready to proceed. After receiving the go-ahead from his crew, he sat back in his seat and took a deep breath. He placed one hand on the controls, then reached over and took hold of the throttle and began to ease it forward. As the roar of the engines grew increasingly louder, the plane lurched forward and slowly began to cruise down the runway. Seconds before he reached the end, he gradually pulled back on the controls and the plane slowly ascended from the runway and pointed its nose skyward. The plane continued its climb for several minutes until it had reached an altitude of 10000 feet. At this point, the pilot leveled the plane off, banked to the left and began to circle the airfield in preparation for setting course to their intended destination… Hiroshima.

Several hours of rather uneventful and boring flight passed. During this time, most of the crew had taken the opportunity to catch some 'z's, before they had to start their assignment. The pilot, determining they were within several miles of their intended target, signaled the crew to begin preparations to send Little Boy to fulfill his destiny. The crew quickly unstrapped themselves and scrambled to their feet to get ready.

Hastily, they unfastened the bomb from its tethers and with a united effort, pushed it gently into position over the bomb-bay doors and fastened it to its temporary holds. Another crewman signaled the pilot that the bomb was in position and ready. Now minutes from the target, the crew began its final checks prior to Little Boy's deployment.

Upon reaching the target, the pilot signaled the crew to open the bomb-bay doors and deploy the weapon. As they attempted to do so, it was soon realized the mechanism had jammed and the door would not open. With only minutes left to deploy the weapon, several crewmen worked on the mechanism in an attempt to free it. Crewman Smith, who was standing in the background, in a daring move, grabbed a hammer and stepped out onto the doors and began to coerce the mechanism to open. Without warning and out of nowhere Max arrived, his presence cloaked by the ACS100. With just minutes to spare, he ran over and grabbed Voyager Smith from behind.

"Little Boy is not going anywhere today!" Max whispered to Voyager Smith as he held him in his clutches.

Voyager Smith looked left and right, but did not see anyone. He knew someone was behind him, 'cause he was now in a choke hold.

"Who? What's going on here?" Smith asked. "Let me go!"

Max reached down and grabbed Voyager Smith's omni from his belt.

"Hey, what are you doing? Give me back my omni!" Smith shouted.

"You won't have any further use for this where you are going." Max said as he turned and tossed the omni into some cargo behind him.

"I'm sorry but the crew will have to solve this problem on their own. I have other plans for you." Max spewed. "Omni, take us to Alcatraz Island, the date, January 1, 2006."

With a cold, artificial voice, the omni replied. "Ok, hold on."

The two vanished. The crew stood there totally awestruck by what they had just seen. After picking their chins up off the floor, they continued their struggle to free the jammed mechanism. However, by the time they had accomplished this, their efforts were too little and too late. The plane had overshot its target and Little Boy plummeted to a splashy end in the middle of the ocean.

---------------------------

Alcatraz, a prison whose reputation was well known, was by this time uninhabited and had been so for quite a few years. A maximum security establishment built on an island surrounded by water; it was at its prime virtually escape-proof. Only those who had committed the most heinous of crimes were housed there.

Time had taken its toll on the aging structure. Its exterior walls were cracked and its razor wire enclosure had collapsed in several areas. The majority of its windows had been broken, allowing for all sorts of creatures to call the facility home. Inside, it was a dark and intimidating place. Its walls were adorned with layers of peeling paint and its grey concrete floors covered in a thick layer of dust. An odor, which could only be described as the smell of aged urine and dirty gym socks permeated every nook and cranny. It was a stench that would turn even the strongest of stomachs.

Ian and Doc now sat inside one of Alcatraz's many cell blocks, patiently waiting for their partner to return.

"This place gives me the creeps." Ian said with a hint of discomfort in his voice. "Couldn't you have thought of a better place to hold our prisoners?"

"What? Do I sense a note of fear in your voice?" Doc asked cynically. "Listen, this is a palace, compared to some of the other places I have visited."

"You call THIS a palace?" Ian exclaimed. "Most palaces do not have peeling paint and graffiti on the walls, darkness as thick as pea soup and rats all over the place. Not to mention that awful smell. This is definitely no-where near my vision of a palace."

"Just calm yourself. There's nothing here that will harm us." Doc reassured. "This place has been abandoned for years."

"Are you sure about that? It's far from being abandoned. Just ask that rat over there. He will tell you if the place is abandoned or not." Ian replied with a tremble in his voice.

At that moment, Max appeared out of thin air with their first prisoner.

"Well, here we are" Max said to his captive. "Here is your new home."

"Doesn't look like home to me." Smith said irreverently. "Why have you brought me here? And why are you holding me prisoner?"

"You shouldn't concern yourself with that at the moment." Max replied.

Doc and Ian walked over and stood near their partner.

"Ian, Doc, can you two hold him for a moment? I need to check his pockets."

As the two restrained their prisoner, Max patted him down and retrieved some odds and ends from his shirt pocket. After laying these aside, he dug around in his captive's front pants pocket and found his guidebook.

"Hey! That's mine!" Smith exclaimed as he struggled to get free from his captors. "Give it back, immediately or I'll…"

Without warning, Doc grabbed his captive by the collar and pulled him in close. "Or you'll what? You are in no position to make threats you obviously can't back up."

Smith struggled once again to get free, but his efforts were in vain. After a few minutes of fighting with his prisoner, Doc had had enough and threw him with great force to the concrete floor.

Smith raised his head slowly, now staggered by Doc's tactics to subdue him. A small amount of blood trickled down from his forehead and dropped onto the floor. "Why are you doing this to me? You still haven't told me why I'm being held prisoner?"

Doc got down on both knees, grabbed Smiths' collar and again pulled him into his face. "I don't have to tell you anything, you got that! Now shut your cake hole or you could end up getting seriously hurt."

Smith's eyes grew wide as he was obviously intimidated by Doc's threats. Still quite aggravated with his prisoner, Doc jumped to his feet and with Smith's collar still in his hands, stood him up and slammed him against a nearby wall.

"Now are you ready to cooperate with us or would you like to be roughed-up a little more?"

Smith, battered, bruised and in pain from Doc's abuse, moaned somewhat and then replied. "Ok, I'll cooperate."

"C'mon then, your cell is waiting for you." Doc said as he pulled Smith away from the wall and led him down the walkway to his cell."

Max stood and watched as Doc escorted Smith to his cell. With a puzzled look on his face, he turned to Ian and asked. "Since when did HE turn into Sergeant Doc?"

"Who knows? With Doc, you never know what to expect next."

"Isn't he taking this prison guard bit a little too far?" Max asked.

"Yep, and from the looks of it, he's loving every minute of it." Ian replied.

"I guess since you both have everything under control here, I'd better get back to work, I have a few more stops yet to make."

Max retrieved the list Mallory had given him earlier from his vest pocket, checked off Voyager Smith, and read the name and location of the next victim.

"One down. Just a mere hundred or so more to go." Max said with some hesitation.

"You go and round up the rest of our prisoners. We'll be here waiting for you when you return."

Max grabbed the ACS100 from his belt, opened it and before giving it a command, looked back at Ian and grinned.

"You know, I could really get used to this."

"Whatever you do, don't get too attached to it. That omni is not yours to keep you know." Ian teased. "Once our work here is finished, Drake will want it back."

"And maybe, just maybe I won't give it to him." Max said mischievously. "Omni, take me to England, 1066, the Battle of Hastings."

"Ok, hold on!" The omni replied.

In an instant, Max vanished.

Doc returned just as his partner had disappeared. He looked at Ian and shook his head, somewhat disappointed.

"Why does he get to have all the fun?"

"I don't know, Doc. I've been asking myself that question for quite a while now."


	9. Errors In Time

****

_VOYAGERS!_ - The Voyager Chronicles  
THE CRIME OF ALL TIME - BOOK 3  
(Sequel to Tastes of Freedom)  
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
October 2007 (Revised 05/2009)  
Previous disclaimers apply

**Chapter 8 – ERRORS IN TIME**

Lindsey Connors sat at her computer console. As Mission Specialist, her job was to monitor the time error alerts from Mission Control computer system and react accordingly. As each alert would come in, she would analyze the event, its planet of origin and the period of time where the error occurred and then dispatch the Voyager who was best suited to resolve the problem. It was a highly stressful, yet fulfilling position to be appointed to.

Unfortunately for Connors this day was not going to be like most. Up to this point, no one at Mission Control had any knowledge of Paradox's current plans. This however, was soon to change. The young Mission Specialist was about to be faced with a set of circumstances that her training and expertise had not prepared her for.

"Alert!…Time error alert!" The computer announced. "Field personnel needed in 20th century Earth time zone, Event…Stock market crash of 1920."

Connors looked at her console and began to read the summary information on the time error which had just occurred. Once she had finished, she pressed a key displaying the current roster of field personnel along with their status and areas of expertise. As she scanned the list of Voyagers to find the appropriate person to dispatch, she couldn't help but notice that most of the field personnel were currently on assignment. According to the information displayed most had been in the same time zone for several days and had not checked in. This was highly unusual, because the Voyager code required all field personnel to inform Mission Control in the event an assignment was going to take more than twenty-four hours to resolve. Any field personnel in this position would be placed on long-term assignment status.

"That's odd." Connors muttered.

"What's odd?" Her assistant asked.

"This. Have a look at this screen."

Her assistant walked over and stood behind her.

"See…Look… Over fifty percent of our active field personnel have been dispatched for three days or longer. Of these, only a few of them have reported in and been placed on long--term assignment status. This is highly unusual." Connors explained with concern in her voice.

"What are you going to do?" The assistant asked.

"Mr. Roberts needs to see this."

Connors pushed a key on her console and the information which had been displayed on her screen started printing on the printer next to her.

"Would you take over for me here, while I inform Mr. Roberts of this?" She asked her assistant.

"Sure. Don't worry, I've got everything covered here."

Once the machine had stopped, Connors grabbed the printout and ran quickly to her supervisor's office.

Marcus Roberts, a man in his late 50's, was an ex-voyager who had spent many years out in the field resolving all sorts of time errors on planets from Andromeda to the far reaches of the galaxy. A man of average height, he had little hair and sported a long white beard and full mustache. His age and experience had tempered and polished him to a point where his demeanor was that of a soft spoken, loving father figure, rarely if ever showing his temper. Highly regarded as an expert in his field, he had retired from field service many years ago and at that time was promoted to Mission Control supervisor.

Upon reaching the door Connors softly knocked. A warm voice from within replied "Come in."

She opened the door with great haste and went inside.

"Sir, I hate to bother you, but, I think we have a major problem here." Connors said in a rather uptight manner.

"Please Miss Connors, come in and sit down. Whatever it is, I'm quite sure we can find a way to resolve it." Roberts replied in a soft, calm tone.

"I'm sorry sir, I just have never experienced this before." She blurted out and then took a deep breath to try to calm down.

"Please…my dear…calm yourself. " Roberts said in a slow, reassuring tone. "Now… slowly take a deep breath…In…Out…In…Out. That's it…Slow-ly."

After allowing a few moments for Connors to calm herself, Roberts, looked at his employee and asked, "Ok, now what seems to have excited you so?"

"Sir, take a look at this report." She then handed the freshly printed report to him. Roberts began to analyze the data and after a few minutes of silence, looked up at her.

"This is quite interesting, Miss Connors." He replied. "And quite a mystery as well. If I'm reading this correctly, over half our field personnel have been dispatched for three days or longer and very few of them have reported in. What do you make of this?"

Connors with a puzzled look on her face attempted to respond. "I…I don't know what to make of it. I just know it's very unusual to have that number of field personnel who have not checked in."

Roberts sat back in his chair and began to stroke his beard. "Like you, I too believe we have a problem." He said with some concern. "Why don't you dispatch another Voyager to investigate? Have him go into several of the time zones and follow-up with the field personnel assigned there to see what is going on. "

"That's an idea." Connors replied. "Hopefully he won't end up like the rest of the field personnel on this list.

"No, make sure you emphasize to him to report back to you every twenty minutes or so. In that way, if there is something amiss here, we will know in a timely manner."

"I will sir. I know just the person to assign to this task."

"Good! Good! While you are starting your investigation, I will poke around in the Mission Control computer and see if I can find any clues as well."

"Thank you sir." Connors said as she stood up to leave the room.

"Oh, one more thing, Miss Connors." He prompted.

"Yes, sir?"

"If I have never said it before, let me say it now. Miss Connors, you are an asset to Mission Control and to me as well. I don't know what I would do if you were not at your console. Always remember that."

Surprised at what she had just heard, Connors now had a smile on her face and her cheeks were somewhat flushed. "Thank you sir. I really do appreciate hearing you say that. Now I must get back to work."

"You are most welcome, Miss Connors."

Connors walked back to her desk and pushed some buttons on her visiphone. In a few moments, the image of a young lady appeared.

"The Cole residence, how may I help you?"

"This is Lindsey Connors at Mission Control. Is Mr. Cole available? It's urgent that I speak with him."

"Please hold while I get Mr. Cole."

The image of the lady had now changed to a sign that read "Please enjoy the music while we fulfill your request" as a beautiful piece of music began to play.

Before she had a chance to hear the entire piece, the music stopped and an image of a young man appeared.

"Steven Cole the third speaking. Oh, Miss Connors, what can I do for you today?"

"Without getting into much detail over the visiphone, I have a special mission for you. How soon can you get over here to Mission Control?"

"I can be there in 15 minutes or so, if that's ok?" Cole replied.

"Good, I will see you shortly, then. Goodbye."

"Goodbye Miss Connors."

Steven M. Cole III, a recent graduate of Voyager Academy was one of several new recruits to join the ranks of Voyager field personnel. The latest iteration in a long line of Voyagers whose name was Cole, he at present was the 7th person in his family to take on these responsibilities. An extremely intelligent, yet somewhat eccentric young man in his early thirties, he graduated from the Academy with the highest of honors and was valedictorian of his class. For weeks, he had been patiently waiting in the wings for his first assignment. Now, in the midst of a crisis, the time had come for his first mission. Little did he realize, however, he was about to be thrown into the deep end of the pool and expected to tread water.

A short time later, Cole arrived at Mission Control dressed to the 9s and looking much like a model ready to walk down the runway of a fashion expo. He made his way over to Connor's desk, clicked his heels together and stood at attention.

"Steven M. Cole III present and ready for duty, ma'am." He barked.

Connors looked up from her work and with a slightly perplexed expression on her face, replied. "Ahh, Mr. Cole. Just the person I need to talk to. Please, be seated."

Cole took off his hat and coat, draped them over a nearby chair and then sat down.

Connors pressed a few keys on her computer terminal and a picture of Cole along with a summary appeared on her screen. She skimmed through the information, then, pressed a few more keys and pulled up the roster of field personnel.

Mr. Cole, I guess you are wondering exactly why I asked you to come in today."

"Yes ma'am. It's been quite a few months since I graduated from Voyager Academy and joined the ranks of field personnel. I'm hoping you are going to give me an assignment"

"Well, Mr. Cole. Yes, I definitely have an assignment for you. However, this is not just any ordinary assignment and there is some danger involved."

"Miss Connors. I'm ready, willing and able. Just tell me what you want done and I'll be off." He said excitedly.

"Before you make a hasty decision, let me fill you in on the details."

"Yes ma'am, please, by all means fill me in." He replied.

"Today, we stumbled onto a very unusual problem. After reviewing the list of Voyagers currently on assignment, we noticed that we have over ninety percent of our field personnel out in the field."

"Interesting…That doesn't leave much room for emergencies." Cole said wryly.

"No, it doesn't. On top of that, of all those who are in the field, the vast majority of them have been out for three days or more without checking in. "

"That's highly unusual, ma'am. As I recall, I believe section 10 paragraph 22 of the Voyager code, states that 'Any Voyager whose assignment is determined to extend past 24 hours must report this to Mission Control in order to be placed on long-term assignment status.'"

"That is correct Mr. Cole." Connors affirmed. "With this many Voyagers out in the field, who have not reported in, it looks suspiciously like something bad has happened. That's where you come in."

"Your assignment, Mr. Cole, is to go into several of these time zones, locate the assigned field personnel, investigate the situation and report back with your findings. You will be going into these areas virtually blind to what is going on. As I said before, it could be dangerous."

"When do I start?" Cole asked.

"As soon as possible, if not sooner. But first, I need to get you an omni and a guidebook."

"Ok, I'm ready."

Connors rose from her chair. "Please make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back."

Now excited at the prospect of getting his first assignment, Cole sat there, his heart racing and his palms damp with sweat. After a few moments, Connors returned.

"Mr. Cole, here is your omni and your guidebook." She said as she handed the items to him. "Please keep these with you at all times."

"I will, ma'am." He agreed.

Connors reached over and retrieved a printout and handed it to him. "This is a list of those personnel currently in the field who have not checked in. It lists each Voyager's name, time out in the field and space/time location."

"Ok." Cole said as he folded the list and placed it in his vest pocket.

"For the present time, I want you to go into the first five time zones on the list and attempt to contact the Voyager assigned to that area."

"How will I find them after I arrive?" Cole asked.

"The omni I gave you has a tracking function built into it. It will seek out and lock in on any omni currently in the area and transport you to its location at the touch of a button."

"Is there anything else I need to know about this mission?" He asked.

"There is one more thing… For your safety, I will need you to check in every 20 minutes. In this way, if anything goes wrong, we can act accordingly."

"Got it!"

"Well, Mr. Cole…Good luck on your mission. Hopefully you will be able to get to the bottom of this mystery."

"I hope so too, ma'am." He said as he retrieved the list from his pocket.

"Let's see now, whose first on the list. Ahh, yes. Looks like I'll be making my first trip to Earth…Hastings, England in 1066. As I recall from my Earth History class, there was a battle fought there." Quickly, he set the controls of his omni, pressed the button and vanished.

In what seemed like seconds, Cole arrived at his first destination and came to a landing in the middle of a forest. Not yet accustomed to traveling through the time vortex, he paused for a moment to shake off its disorienting effects. Once his head was again clear, he started his investigation. He opened his omni and set the controls to scan for other omnis in the area. After a few moments, the omni beeped twice, indicating another omni had been located. In response, Cole pushed the button on the omni and was quickly transported to another part of the forest, where he landed just outside of a clearing. As he began to examine the area for clues, he discovered the signs of what looked like a struggle just a few steps away. He walked cautiously over to the area, briefly looked around then began to walk its perimeter. During this time, he noticed several broken limbs, as well as a great deal of trampled grass and weeds. Before he had come full circle, Cole suddenly noticed a shiny object lying on the ground in front of him. Lo and behold, it was an omni. He stooped down and picked it up. It obviously belonged to the Voyager assigned to this time zone, but he was no-where to be found. "Where was he?" He thought. He slipped this clue quickly into his pocket. Finding no other clues, he decided it was time for him to check in. He set his omni to communicate mode and then attempted to contact Mission Control.

"Mission Control, this is Cole."

"Mission Control, go ahead."

"I've arrived at the first time zone, Earth…Hastings, England, the year 1066, and have completed my investigation here."

"What are your findings, Voyager Cole?"

"Mission Control, the Voyager assigned to this location is no-where to be found. I have however, located his omni. There are some signs of a struggle here. Other than that, I have found no other clues to explain where he went."

"Confirm that Voyager Cole, what is your current status?"

"All is ok. I'm proceeding to the next time zone." He replied. "Cole out."

"Confirm that Voyager Cole. We will await your next report.

Cole checked this time zone off his list and set the controls of his omni to his next destination, Earth…Dallas, Texas…November 22, 1963. Upon pressing the button on his omni, he vanished.

Arriving at his next destination, he landed atop a large grassy hill which paralleled a rather large thoroughfare. In the background, stood a large red brick building which was several stories tall. As he observed the area, there was no one in sight and no sign of any field personnel. He retrieved his omni from his pocket, opened it and checked its status.

"Earth…November 22, 1963…Dallas, Texas and another red light!" He said to himself.

He again set the controls to scan for the presence of other omnis in the area and once again another omni was detected. He pushed the button on his omni to take him to where the other omni was located. At this point nothing happened.

"What?? What's wrong now." He mumbled. He began to hit his omni on the side with his hand in an attempt to repair its seemingly obvious malfunction. He again pressed the button and much to his surprise, nothing happened.

"What is going on here? Yet another time zone with a problem and no Voyager in sight. And now my omni is on the fritz. What's next?"

With no clues as to what had happened at this point, he began to make his way down the hill. Suddenly, he was blinded by the sunlight reflecting off a shiny object, lying in the grass. He looked down and again, on the ground, lay an omni.

"It must be my lucky day… I've found another omni!" Cole said lightheartedly.

He slipped the omni into his pocket and continued walking down the hill. Upon reaching the sidewalk, he began to make his way down the street. Moments later, as he strolled past the window of a local television repair shop, his attention was captured by a television set displayed in the window. Intrigued by what he now saw, he stopped for a moment and listened to the program being shown.

"This is Walter Cronkite reporting for CBS news in New York, covering the President's trip to Dallas, Texas. President Kennedy after making his way through the crowds of supporters who came out in full force to greet him, arrived back at the airport moments ago and has now boarded Air Force One. He will be leaving shortly and is scheduled to arrive back in Washington DC within the next few hours."

Cole quickly pulled out his guidebook and turned to the page for this time period. As he read the treatise, much to his surprise, he determined the error in this time zone. It was now obvious to him, that once again something had happened that kept the Voyager assigned here from completing his mission. He now knew it was too much of a coincidence two Voyagers assigned to different time zones would just disappear without a trace.

He retraced his steps back to the hill where he had landed and again attempted to check in.

"Mission Control this is Cole"

"Mission Control. Go ahead Voyager Cole."

"I have completed my investigation of the next time zone. Once again no Voyager has been found. The only trace of his existence here is his omni, which I found lying on the ground. I am proceeding on to the next destination."

"Confirm that, Voyager Cole. We await your next report."

Cole once again looked at his printout to determine his next destination.

"Hmm…Earth again…August 6th 1945." He said to himself as he set the controls of the omni. "There seems to be quite a few problems with the history of this planet." Upon closing the lid, he pressed the button and vanished.

Cole's next destination put him aboard a B-29 airplane in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Upon arrival, he stood in the background on one side of the plane, observing the crew as they peered curiously out the open bomb bay doors. He opened his omni and checked its status.

"August 6th, 1945. Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. And a red light to boot!" He said to himself. "I wonder what is going on here." As he stood there, omni in hand, he couldn't help but overhear their conversations.

"We obviously missed the target." The first crewman stated.

"Yea, there's gonna be hell to pay for this mistake." The second crewman said.

"What about ole Smith. What do you think happened to him?" The first crewman asked

"Maybe he fell through the bomb bay doors."

At this point a third member of the crew walked up and stood beside the two other crewmen.

"No, he didn't fall through the doors. The doors were not open, they were still jammed. I stood there and saw the whole thing. For a moment, he acted as if he were struggling to get free of something and then he just vanished into thin air." The third crewman replied.

"I don't know what happened here, but, it's very, very strange." The first crewman said curiously.

As the crew continued to peer out the doors, Cole began to scan for other omnis in the area. Once again, just as he expected, an omni was found. He pushed the button to transport him to its location and nothing happened.

"Well, here we go again!" He said to himself.

At this point, he dashed behind some nearby crates to keep from being seen. As he sat down to rest for a moment, he felt a sharp object poking into him. Quickly, he jumped to his feet and looked down at the floor. There, on the floor, lay another abandoned omni. After picking it up and placing it in his pocket, he again sat down and attempted to contact Mission Control.

"Mission Control, this is Voyager Cole."

"Go ahead Voyager Cole."

"I have arrived at my next destination and have completed my investigation. Based on the evidence, the Voyager assigned to this time period was observed to have disappeared into thin air after what looked like a brief struggle. I have found his omni lying behind some crates. No other evidence to explain his disappearance has been found."

"Confirm that Voyager Cole. You said he disappeared after a brief struggle. With whom?"

"Mission Control, that's just it, those who saw the incident said he was struggling with someone or something, but there was nothing visible at the time."

"Confirm that Voyager Cole. The Mission Specialist wants you to cancel the remainder of your investigation and report back to base."

"Confirm that Mission Control. Returning to base." Cole acknowledged.

He set the controls on his omni and vanished.

-------------------------------

Back at Mission Control, Connors had just received the final report of Voyager Cole's findings. Now even more concerned than before, she ran into her supervisor's office with the report.

"Mr. Roberts, I need to speak with you." She said urgently.

"Miss Connors, please sit down. What seems to be the problem?"

"Sir, I just received the report from Voyager Cole's investigation. From the looks of it, it seems as if three of our field personnel have just vanished. There is no trace of them in any of the time zones. The only items found were their omnis. Here sir, take a look."

"Hmmmm! And did you read the details of his last report. It says the Voyager in that time zone was observed to have been struggling with an invisible someone or something before he vanished."

"Yes sir, I read that, sir. What does it mean?"

"I don't know, I really don't know. Voyagers disappearing into thin air…Voyagers struggling with some unseen entity… Strange…very strange indeed. I think it's time I contact Director Blake and inform him of the situation." He said with concern.

"Miss Connors, you continue to monitor the situation and let me know if any other events occur."

"I will sir." Connors replied as she turned and exited the room.

Roberts pressed a couple of keys on his visiphone. In an instant, an image of Rosalyn appeared in front of him.

"Director Blake's office. How may I help you?"

"Rosalyn, this is Marcus Roberts at Mission Control. Is the Director by chance available?"

"Yes sir. Please hold one moment."

Rosalyn contacted the Director on her intercom.

"Mr. Blake."

"Yes, Rosalyn."

"Marcus Roberts is on line 1"

"Thank you Rosalyn.

Blake pushed a button on his visiphone and an image of Roberts appeared.

"Marcus? What a surprise? What can I do for you today?" Blake asked.

"John, we have a grave problem here at Mission Control."

"You as well. It seems like my entire division is under attack." Blake stated rather abruptly.

"What do you mean, John?"

"Oh, never mind. More importantly, what is this problem you speak of?"

"John. Earlier today, my Mission Specialist stumbled onto a really strange situation. After reviewing the list of personnel on assignment, she noticed that over ninety percent of our Voyagers are currently in the field." Roberts explained.

"Ok, Marcus, we've seen this situation before. The number of time errors can peak and wane, so what's the problem?"

"That's just it, John. We have dispatched the vast majority of our personnel to handle the increase, but, a high percentage of them have been in the same location for more than 3 days and have not checked in."

"Are you sure? I thought they were supposed to check in if they were going to be there for more than 24 hours."

"Yes, I'm sure sir. And you are correct, they are supposed to check in."

"Earlier today, my Mission Specialist and I started an investigation into these strange events. We sent one of our new graduates out to investigate several of these time zones."

"What were your findings?" Blake asked.

"Well, sir. In each of the time zones, the assigned Voyager had literally vanished into thin air. There was no trace of him. In each area his omni was found abandoned. In one of the areas there were signs of a struggle. In another, there were witnesses who saw the Voyager struggle with someone or something that could not be seen and then vanish."

"What? He was struggling with something invisible?"

"Yes, according to the witness and then he vanished."

"Hmmm…interesting." Blake said as he leaned back in his chair. "

"John, I've been around you way too long. I know that look." Roberts said curiously. "Something's up. You can't fool me."

"These events could be related…" Blake mumbled, now in a deep state of thought.

"What could be related?" Roberts asked. "John, has something else occurred?"

"Oh, uh, I'm sorry Marcus." Blake said apologetically. "I have so much on my mind; I seem to be talking in riddles. Yes, we had our latest prototype omni stolen a couple of nights ago. Oddly enough, it has the capability to render its user invisible."

"Do you think these two events are related?" He asked.

"It certainly looks that way. Especially with regard to that last situation where the Voyager was seen struggling with something invisible."

"Marcus, please continue your investigation and let me know if you find out any other details which might explain this odd occurrence."

"I will sir,"

"We will talk again later."

Blake pushed another button on his visiphone to contact Chancellor Garth. After a few moments, the image of his assistant appeared.

"Chancellor Garth's office, how may I help you?"

"It's John Blake again, is the Chancellor available?"

"Sure, just one moment."

Suddenly the Chancellor's image appeared in front of him.

"John, I take it you must have an update to our little problem."

"Yes sir. I believe our problem with the theft of the ACS100 has just gotten worse." Blake said reluctantly.

"What do you mean?" Garth asked.

"Well sir, I just received a call from Marcus Roberts at Mission Control. He informed me that earlier today, he and his staff discovered over ninety percent of their field personnel had been dispatched and the vast majority of them had not checked in more than three days. They immediately started an investigation and dispatched a Voyager to three of the related time zones. Much to their surprise, there was no sign of any field personnel in any of the areas."

"John, this is really serious." Garth said as he sat back in his chair and rubbed his chin.

"Also, during their investigation, they found witnesses who claimed one of the Voyagers was struggling against an invisible someone or something just before they vanished."

"Do you think the theft of the ACS100 and the disappearance of these Voyagers are related?" Garth asked.

"Yes sir, I do. It makes sense. The question is why."

Chancellor Garth shook his head in disbelief. "John, if you're correct and these two events are related, we could be facing a situation that could threaten the whole of time as well as the entire planet."

"Yes sir. I know. That's why I contacted you."

"I think it would be in our best interest if we call a special meeting to discuss this situation. I will contact the Council of Six and the Prime Minister. If you will, please inform the appropriate members of your division to be in attendance. Let's meet say around 2:00 pm tomorrow afternoon in the main conference room."

"Yes sir. My staff and I will be there." Blake acknowledged.

"Thank you John. Until tomorrow then."

Blake pushed a button on his visiphone and contacted Rosalyn.

"Rosalyn."

"Yes Mr. Blake."

"I need you make preparations for a meeting to be held in the main conference room tomorrow afternoon with the Prime Minister and the Council of Six."

"What time sir?"

"2 pm."

"Who else will be in attendance?"

"I need you to contact Marcus Roberts, Lindsey Connors, uh…Mary from R & D, Henderson from Security, Davis from IS & T, and that whiz-kid Mallory and schedule them to attend. Also, I will need you to attend to take notes."

"Will there be anything else sir?"

"Hmmmm… Yes, if you could arrange for some refreshments as we may be there for quite a while. Also, please cancel all my appointments for tomorrow afternoon."

"Will do sir."

"Thank you Rosalyn."


	10. A State of Concern

****

_VOYAGERS!_ - The Voyager Chronicles  
THE CRIME OF ALL TIME - BOOK 3  
(Sequel to Tastes of Freedom)  
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
October 2007 (Revised 05/2009)  
Previous disclaimers apply

**Chapter 9 – A STATE OF CONCERN**

Inside the main conference room of Voyager Technical, a meeting was about to take place to discuss the current state of affairs including the theft of the ACS100 and the apparent abduction of so many Voyager field personnel. With the last of the attendees making their way into the room, Chancellor Garth called the meeting to order.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, shall we begin? I have one last minute change to report. The Prime Minister will not be in attendance today. He had some urgent business to attend to on the other side of the planet. He will return tomorrow morning and I will brief him on the outcome of this meeting at that time."

"The reason I have called this meeting today is due to the recent unexplained events which have occurred at Voyager Technical and Mission Control. It is these events which in my opinion could and will have a devastating effect on this planet if they are not resolved in a timely manner. With that said, I will turn the floor over to Director Blake."

"Thank you sir. I will start by giving you an overview of those events which have occurred over the past few days. Once I have completed my explanations, I will entertain questions from the group and allow my staff to further explain the details. I would like to ask that you please hold all of your questions until I have finished."

"The situation as you might want to call it, started with the first unusual event, which occurred several nights ago when someone broke into the R & D department and stole our newest prototype omni, the ACS100. It was discovered missing the next morning and there was no obvious signs of intruders or forced entry. "

"The next unusual event occurred that same night. As the security guards made their appointed rounds, somehow, none of them were recorded on any of the building's cameras. If you review the video tape log for that evening, it looks as if no one was in the building at all. We have since determined a very unusual malfunction occurred with the building security system that night."

"As if that wasn't enough to keep us all on the edge of our seats, Mission Control discovered another rather odd situation in their area early yesterday. It seems over ninety percent of our field personnel had been dispatched out in the field. The vast majority of them have been in the same time zone and location for more than 3 days. None have yet to report in."

"Finally, we sent someone into several of the aforementioned time zones to investigate. In each area, the assigned Voyager had disappeared without a trace. In one circumstance, the Voyager in question was observed to be in a struggle with what apparently was an invisible entity moments before he vanished into thin air."

"This is a summary of the events which have occurred thus far." With that said, I'll open up the floor for questions and discussion."

At this point a member of the Council of Six spoke up.

"I unfortunately have no knowledge of this ACS100 omni. Could one of your staff enlighten me as to the details of this device?"

"Sure. " Blake replied. "Mary, the supervisor in the R & D department can tell you about it… Mary if you would."

"Ok…Sir. I'd be more than happy to." She replied.

"Gentlemen, the ACS100 is the latest development in omni technology to come out of R & D. It has the same features and functionality of the standard omni, but with two distinct improvements. First, it is voice activated. Instead of using buttons or dials to input commands, places and dates, you can just speak them aloud."

The group began to gasp and whisper amongst themselves upon hearing this feature.

"The second of its improvements involves the addition of a cloaking device, which renders the user totally invisible when faced with a dangerous situation or when the user wants to observe an event, unobtrusively. Hence the source of its name ACS stands for Automatic Cloaking System."

"I have a question." Henderson interrupted. "This is not about the ACS100, but about Mission Control. Is it normal to have that many field personnel on assignment at the same time?"

"No it's not unusual, since the number of time errors fluctuates to both extremes." Roberts explained. "It's just very unusual to have that many field personnel who have not checked in."

Another member of the Council of Six spoke up. "Director Blake, you made a reference during your summary that you believe these events are somehow related. Can you explain further?"

"Yes, I believe all these events are connected." Blake replied. "If you look at the events in the order they occurred, they do have an obvious pattern. First you disable the security system or cause its malfunction. Next, you steal the state of the art omni which has the ability to render the user invisible. Then you go into several of the time zones where field personnel have been assigned to and obviously kidnap them for some reason or another. The only questions at this point are why and what is the next event to occur?

"Ok, assuming you are correct in your observations, does anyone here know who has the most to gain by doing this?" Davis asked.

"I would have to say… and it's purely speculation at this point…" Garth interjected. "It must be some organized group of the criminal element of the planet. If in fact, that is the case, the next important question is what are they trying to accomplish?"

"Have we discovered how they subverted the security system?" Henderson asked.

"I have the best technician at I S & T looking into that now." Blake said boldly. "Mr. Mallory, would you like to take that question?"

Mallory had been sitting quietly at the end of the conference table. Now quite uncomfortable, he began to speak.

"Yes…" He said as he cleared his throat. "Yes, I'll respond to that question. At this point sir, I have determined that someone external to the division tapped into the Voyager Computer Network and at the appropriate moment, disabled the security system alarms and put the cameras in a loop. Whoever it was, they erased all traces of their access once they were finished. I have not been able to trace their connection, but I am still investigating."

Another member of the Council of Six spoke up. "Ok. It looks as if we have a major security breach here and the potential for the entire Mission Control department to collapse. I don't know about the rest of you, I believe we need to take action now."

"What should we do?" Davis asked. "Or more specifically, what can we do?"

"As I see it, we have only one option open to us at this point." Garth interjected. "We need to stop the loss of personnel in Mission Control and we need to further investigate these disappearances of our current field personnel. However, there are not enough personnel currently available to do so. I believe at this critical juncture in our investigation, that we have no other choice but to activate the Voyager recall signal and get our remaining field personnel back to the planet and re-group."

Stunned by this rather unorthodox recommendation, those in attendance began to talk amongst themselves. After a few minutes of discussion, Chancellor Garth once again spoke up.

"Ok, you've had a few minutes to discuss my idea. I want to hear some feedback."

One of the members of the Council of six spoke up.

"While I feel this is a very critical situation, I'm not quite convinced the use of the recall signal is necessary."

Another Council member who disagreed with the statements of his colleague began to speak.

"Sir, I understand your concern. I also know, the recall signal has not been used in over a century and according to Voyager Code can only be used in the in the gravest of circumstances. Well, here we are. We're facing an unknown adversary here. One who has stolen a highly sensitive piece of equipment and has kidnapped our field personnel. I say we do it now! Activate the recall signal, get our people safely back here and double our forces against this foe."

"I agree also." Henderson stated pointedly. "There's strength in numbers. The more people we have to throw at this problem, the quicker its resolution."

Chancellor Garth looked over at Blake, who had been very quiet and pressed him for his opinion.

"Director Blake. We have yet to hear from you. How do you think we should proceed?"

"Chancellor Garth. I believe we need to continue our investigation and expose the culprits and their plan. I agree with you and the distinguished member of the Council of Six, we must have enough manpower to perform this task thoroughly. There is, at this moment not enough personnel available to do this. I also recommend we activate the recall signal."

All of a sudden, a deafening silence filled the room. After a brief pause, Chancellor Garth began once again to speak.

"Is there anyone else here who would like to comment on what has been said thus far?" He asked. "Are we all in agreement, then, to activate the recall signal? If there are any others opposed to this, please speak up now."

Garth paused for a moment as silence again filled the room. The attendees looked at each other to see if anyone was going to break the silence. After a time, he continued with the discussion.

"There being no other objections at this point, we will proceed with our plan. Mr. Roberts, if you will please initiate the recall as soon as we adjourn. The sooner we get our personnel back here the better off we will be."

"Sir, I will need the key to override the lockouts." Roberts said wryly.

Chancellor Garth reached down inside his shirt and retrieved a small key card attached to a gold chain currently hanging from his neck. He removed the key card and passed it to Roberts.

"Here is the key you require. Please return it to me when you are finished."

"I will sir." Roberts acknowledged.

"Director Blake, once our personnel have returned, we will need to schedule another meeting to brief them on what is known thus far and to develop a plan of attack. Can you and your staff arrange that?" Garth asked.

"Yes sir. When would you like to schedule it?" Blake asked.

"Let's meet in the auditorium one hour from now. I would also like to have those from your division who are here now in attendance also."

"That's no problem sir." Blake replied.

"Good…Good. The Council of Six and I will meet with the Prime Minister when he returns tomorrow and inform him of what has occurred."

"If there are no other questions or concerns, we will adjourn until later." Garth said as he rose from his seat. "Thank you all for coming."

The group disbanded and returned to their designated areas. Roberts and Connors, upon arrival back at Mission Control, began the task of activating the recall signal.

Connors walked over to her console and sat down. With Roberts now standing behind her she typed in a few commands and the computer responded in its rather mechanical sounding voice and flashed a large red warning box on the screen.

"Warning…You are about to initiate the Voyager Recall Signal. In order to continue please insert the appropriate control keycard into the slot."

Connors looked back at Roberts and asked, "Are we ready?"

Roberts smiled at Connors and in a confident, forceful military-like tone replied, "We're ready. Let's do this!" He quickly leaned over and inserted the keycard into the slot.

"Control keycard #1 has been inserted." The computer replied. "Awaiting voice authorization from Mission Specialist."

Connors looked at her terminal and began to speak.

"Computer, this is Mission Specialist Lindsey Connors, Id number 832516. Authorization…Alpha-6-3-Charlie-Victor."

Acknowledging her input, the computer replied. "Connors, Lindsey, I-d number…8-3-2-5-1-6, rank…Mission Specialist… Authorization confirmed."

The computer continuing its authorization sequence, again prompted for more information.

"Awaiting supervisor voice authorization for final 1 minute countdown."

Roberts leaned down and began to speak.

"Computer, this is Mission Control Supervisor Marcus Roberts, Id number 672925, Authorization…Gulf-7-8-Victor-Alpha"

Again, the computer confirmed the information given.

"Roberts, Marcus, I-d number…6-7-2-9-2-5, rank…Mission Control Supervisor… Authorization confirmed… Beginning final countdown to recall activation."

Suddenly the message: "01:Minutes 00:Seconds to Activation" appeared in middle of the screen as the countdown begun.

The two stood there silent, intensely focused on the computer as it completed its countdown. Once it reached the 10 second mark, the computer once again spoke.

"Warning, 10 seconds to Voyager Recall Activation"

"Warning, 5 seconds to Voyager Recall Activation."

"Four"

"Three"

"Two"

"One"

"Voyager Recall now activated." The computer said in its mechanical tone.

"And now we wait." Connors said as she sat back in her chair.

"Yes, now we wait." Roberts echoed as he removed the keycard and walked back to his office.


	11. Reunions

****

_VOYAGERS!_ - The Voyager Chronicles  
THE CRIME OF ALL TIME - BOOK 3  
(Sequel to Tastes of Freedom)  
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
October 2007 (Revised 05/2009)  
Previous disclaimers apply

**Chapter 10 - REUNIONS**

Minutes after the activation of the recall signal, the hallway outside the main entrance to Mission Control was buzzing with activity as field personnel began to arrive. Dazed and confused, many were walking around aimlessly, seeking to find an answer to their one and only question. Why were they here?

Suddenly, that all too familiar whistling sound could be heard above the noise of the crowd as Bogg and Jeff fell through the time portal and came to a hard landing on opposite ends of the hallway.

"Owww!" Jeff said as he rubbed his aching backside. After shaking off the effects of his rough landing, he gingerly picked himself up off the floor and looked around the area for his partner. But alas, there was no sign of him in the immediate area.

"Bogg!" He cried out. "Where are you Bogg?"

Now concerned at the thought of being separated from his partner, Jeff frantically began to push his way through the large crowd of people in an all out attempt to find him. As he continued his search, periodically he would stop and call out for him. After some time, exhausted from fighting his way through the onslaught of people, he stopped and again surveyed the area.

Bogg, unaware that Jeff was frantically looking for him, managed to pry himself off the hard floor and get back to his feet. Now realizing his partner was not with him, he looked around the area and began to call out for him.

"Jeff-rey!" Bogg yelled forcefully. "Jeff-rey! Where are you kid?"

There was no response. As he stood there, his mind still in a fog from the hard landing, he began to ask those around him if they had seen his partner.

"Excuse me. Have you seen a boy, about this high, in a red striped shirt running around here?"

After receiving a negative nod, he turned and asked another Voyager.

"Have you seen a little boy wearing a red striped shirt?"

"I'm sorry, but no. I haven't." The Voyager replied. "Do you know why we are here?"

"I don't know sir. Right now I'm just trying to find my partner." Bogg said, now a bit unnerved at the thought of not finding him.

Bogg again quizzed another member of the crowd.

"Please, have you seen my partner? He's about this tall, has curly hair and is wearing a red striped shirt." He pleaded.

Once again, no one had seen the young boy.

Bogg stood there, with one hand on his hip as he rubbed his forehead. He then began calling out for Jeff once again.

"Jeff-rey! Jeff-rey! Hey kid, where are you?" He yelled.

Through the noise of the crowd, all at once he heard the sound of his partner calling out to him.

"Bogg! Bogg! I hear you! Where are you Bogg?" Jeff yelled.

Bogg began to stretch his neck and stand on tiptoe to catch a glimpse of Jeff. He knew the red striped shirt Jeff wore would be like a beacon in the darkness, especially in the midst of all the uniquely clad field personnel. Suddenly, he spotted Jeff in the midst of the group. Relieved at the sight of his young partner, he waived his arms in the air and exclaimed, "Hey! I'm over here kid!"

Jeff saw his partner in the distance and continued to push his way through the labyrinth of people until he finally reached him.

"Bogg!" Jeff said as he put his arms around him.

"Good to see you too kid. I almost thought I had lost you."

"Where are we?" Jeff asked.

"Kid, I'd say, Voyager Headquarters. See the big V on the wall over there."

Bogg continued to survey the area to get his bearings. Quickly he noticed the main entrance to Mission Control several feet away from them.

"Jeff, this is the hallway outside of Mission Control. From the looks of things, I'd say we were not the only ones who have been brought back here. All these people are Voyagers just like us." He confirmed.

"Ok…Now the bigger question. What's it all about?" Jeff asked.

"I don't know kid. But I can tell you this; it must be pretty bad for them to activate the recall signal. "

"Hey, do you know any of these people?" Jeff asked. "Maybe you could ask one of them."

"Unfortunately for us, kid. I don't know any of them…" He replied before being taken aback by the soft sound of a rather familiar voice coming from behind him.

"Phineas?"

The two turned and saw a familiar face approaching them.

"Bogg, it's Susan!"

Susan whose striking beauty was enough to sweep even a blind man off his feet, proceeded toward them, dressed in a peach chiffon gown with long wispy sleeves that moved with the slightest breeze.

"Susan! What are YOU doing here?" Bogg asked, in a state of shock.

"Well now…is that an appropriate greeting for your former defender and school crush?" Susan admonished.

Bogg took a step forward and put his arms around her in a warm embrace.

"Susan. It's so good to see you again." He said softly.

"It's good to see you too, Phineas." She said as she gazed into Bogg's deep blue eyes.

Jeff stood in the background, shaking his head and rolling his eyes as he watched this rather poignant reunion unfold in front of him.

"Phineas. Where's Jeffrey?" She asked.

Bogg, now swooning from the sight of his long, lost love, pointed his thumb over his shoulder and replied, "Uh…he's back there…uh…somewhere."

Susan graciously released herself from Bogg's embrace and turned her attention to the young Voyager standing behind him.

"Jeffrey. Come here." Susan beckoned unto him as she held out her arms.

Jeff walked over to her. She put her arms around him and hugged him.

"It's good to see you too. Let me get a good look at you." She said as she stood back and cast an eye over him.

"My how you have grown since I last saw you. I hope Phineas is taking good care of you."

"Yes ma'am, he is." Jeff replied.

"He couldn't be in better hands." Bogg acknowledged.

"And have you been taking good care of Phineas?"

"Yes, of course. " Jeff said emphatically. He then put his arm around Bogg's waist. "We have to take care of each other. We're all we've got."

"Susan, what's going on here?" Bogg interrupted. "Why are we here?"

"Phineas, there has been some sort of a breach of security at Voyager Technical. A very important piece of equipment has been stolen and in addition, many Voyagers who were on assignment have just disappeared from their respective time zones."

"Disappeared? How?" He asked.

"No one knows. Rumor has it, they have been kidnapped."

Jeff's eyes were now as big as saucers. "Kidnapped!" Jeff echoed nervously. "Bogg! I don't like the sound of that."

"Calm down kid. Nothing's gonna happen to you as long as I'm around."

Susan continued her explanation. "The little bit I've been told is that Chancellor Garth and the Council of Six authorized the use of the recall signal to bring back those Voyagers remaining in the field. They supposedly wanted us back here to help them develop some plan to find those who have been kidnapped and to retrieve the stolen equipment."

---------------

Inside Mission Control, the noise and confusion in the hallway outside could be heard through the granite walls quite clearly now. Connors rose from her chair and walked over to Mr. Robert's office.

"Sir. Excuse me sir."

"Yes Miss Connors. "

"From the sound of it… I believe the recall was a success."

"Yes, I'd say so. They don't sound too pleased, do they?" Roberts stated.

"No sir."

"Why don't you go put their minds at ease and then direct them all to the Auditorium?" Roberts asked. "While you are doing that, I will gather our materials and meet you there."

"Sure sir."

Connors walked over to the entrance and slowly opened the door. As she opened the door, the noise of the crowd was so great that she could scarcely hear her own thoughts. Once she stepped outside, she began to yell at the crowd in an attempt to get their attention, but her efforts were in vain. As a last resort, she put two fingers inside her lips and let out a whistle that would burst one's eardrums. At this point, the crowd quieted down.

"Fellow Voyagers, may I please have your attention?" She yelled.

"I know you are all wondering why you have been called back to headquarters. Let me assure you, the answers to all of your questions will be revealed shortly. For now, I'd like to ask each of you to report immediately to the auditorium for a briefing which will begin in about 30 minutes. "

A low rumble encompassed the room as the group proceeded to make their way to the auditorium.

Susan looked at Bogg and Jeff.

"Well guys… We better get going if we are to get a good seat." Susan said as she began to follow the crowd.

"Yeah… We're right behind you." Bogg replied. "C'mon kid."


	12. The Briefing

****

_VOYAGERS!_ - The Voyager Chronicles  
THE CRIME OF ALL TIME - BOOK 3  
(Sequel to Tastes of Freedom)  
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
October 2007 (Revised 05/2009)  
Previous disclaimers apply

**Chapter 11 – THE BRIEFING**

The auditorium at VHQ was quite unlike any ever built. Rarely used for meetings of this nature, its primary purpose was for conducting Voyager Academy graduation ceremonies. It was more often used for opera, plays and concerts performed for the benefit of those who worked at VHQ. An enormous and lofty space, its ceilings were adorned with intricately carved plaster moldings and rich frescos which depicted some of the historical events of the planet. In addition, four equally spaced, highly ornate chandeliers provided the only lighting for the area. These emitted a rather warm and subdued light much like that of candlelight. With a seating capacity of over 3500 guests on three different levels, its seats were some of the most comfortable ever made in the universe. The cushions were constructed from a state of the art gel material covered in a rich blue tapestry-like fabric with gold metallic cording around the edges. At the front, a grand stage was framed with royal blue velvet drapes with a valance trimmed in gold metallic fringe. On the half-walls to the extreme left and right of the stage, were large gold 'V's which sparkled with the light of the chandeliers in the room. The large side wall on the left was adorned with portraits of past Prime Ministers and other important figures in the history of the planet. On the opposite wall were hundreds of plaques inscribed with the names of all those who had graduated each year from Voyager Academy since its inception.

As Susan, Bogg and Jeff reached the lobby outside the auditorium; they were forced to wait as the crowd of people pushed their way through its large wooden entry doors.

"Wow, Bogg. How many Voyagers do you think are here?" Jeff asked.

"I'd say hundreds, kid."

"How many Voyagers are there?"

"You know, that's a good question. But I really don't know…Susan, do you know?" Bogg asked as he turned to his love.

"Yes, there are some twelve hundred Voyagers currently on active duty, but this is not all of them. As I explained earlier, many have disappeared." She explained.

"That's quite a lot of omnis, wouldn't you say?" Jeff said as he nodded his head.

"Yep, there's quite a few of them alright." Bogg acknowledged. "But don't worry, when the time comes, there will be one more for you. I guarantee that.

Bogg was becoming quite bored with the long wait to enter the auditorium so as he patiently waited, he decided to take the opportunity to poke some fun at his partner. He tapped his partner on the shoulder and with a straight face, began his bit of teasing.

"I wonder if they will serve refreshments at this meeting?" He asked innocently. "I sure could sure use a hot dog right now."

Caught off guard by Bogg's question, Jeff turned and looked up at his partner.

"What? What did you say, Bogg?"

"You know, refreshments! Food! Chow! Snacks!" Bogg said with a grin.

"Yea, Bogg. I know what it means…" Jeff said curtly. "You can't be serious? We just ate not too long ago."

"I know, but I get hungry when I'm nervous." Bogg said as he raised his brow. "And I'm just dying for a hotdog right now."

"Nervous? The great Bogg, nervous! Can't be. Something's definitely wrong here!" Jeff exclaimed as he grabbed his partners arm and twisted it behind his back.

"Owww! Kid, what gives? OWWWW! What's the reason for the arm bar?" Bogg exclaimed as he pretended to be in extreme pain.

"You must be an imposter. My Bogg would never be nervous about anything! C'mon now, what have you done with the real Bogg?" Jeff demanded.

Bogg continued to wince as he pretended to be in agonizing pain. "What do you mean…the real Bogg? Kid, I am the real Bogg, there is no other!" He yelled.

"You wouldn't be lying to me now? I can just as easily apply some more torque to your arm." Jeff threatened.

"Oh no, please, no more torque. My arm is about to come off. Please Jeff, please!" Bogg pleaded in a performance that would have brought down the house.

By now, this little two person comedy act had gotten Susan's attention. Unfortunately for the two and their shenanigans, she turned around and became a one-person audience. From the expression now on her face, she obviously wanted to return her ticket for a refund.

"All right boys, I think we've seen and heard quite enough." She said firmly. "Quit goofing off and come on, we're almost at the door."

Jeff released his hold. Bogg grabbed him by the shoulder and playfully pretended to punch his lights out. At that moment, Susan turned and saw the little prank. She gave the two of them a rather stern look as she cleared her throat. Startled by Susan's reaction, Bogg and Jeff's cheeks suddenly took on a reddish hue as they bowed their heads, now somewhat embarrassed.

Susan inched her way ever closer to the entrance, with Bogg and Jeff bringing up the rear. After a time, the three finally reached the door and went inside. Wanting to be as close as possible to the action, they walked down the aisle to the front of the room and took a seat in the fifth row.

As Jeff sat down, he was quite taken by the sensation of the seating.

"Ooooo. What's this stuff?" Jeff said as he squirmed around in his seat. "Feels like I'm sitting on a big bag of Jell-o."

Bogg, with a quizzical expression, looked over at Jeff and asked. "Jell-o?"

"Never mind Bogg, I'll explain later." Jeff replied.

Susan shook her head and started to laugh, then quickly began to recall the response she had the first time she sat down in one of these seats.

"Jeffrey, these are called gel-cushion seats. They are made to conform to your…uh…umm…how shall I put this…" Susan said before being interrupted by Bogg.

"TUBA!" Bogg exclaimed.

"What?" She asked, somewhat confused.

Bogg turned to Susan with a grin on his face that stretched from ear to ear. "That's the word you are looking for. Tuba."

Surprised by his partner's choice of words, Jeff began to laugh uncontrollably. Bogg quickly followed suit.

"No, Bogg, that's NOT exactly the word I was looking for." Susan replied, her feathers apparently ruffled by his choice of words.

"I'm sorry Susan but you must admit, it was funny." Bogg said in a nonchalant manner.

"I guess so." She said with a smirk and then turned her attention back to the young Voyager.

"Ok, I've got it now. These seats took years and years to develop. They were made to conform to your posterior and provide a means for you to sit comfortably for long periods of time."

"Wow, I love these. Bogg, can we get some of these to help us with our landings?" Jeff asked as he smiled at his partner.

"What? You're kidding, right? " Bogg replied in a state of disbelief. "Kid, are you seriously going to walk around all day with a cushion strapped to your tuba? That's going to look rather strange, don't you think?"

A bit irritated by this response, Jeff responded in a sassy, sarcastic tone. "It's no stranger than walking around all day rubbing your tuba after all those hard landings."

"If you say so." Bogg quipped. He lowered his brow and pointed to his young partner. "and we'll deal with that smart mouth of yours at a later date."

At that moment, the curtains of the stage slowly opened revealing members of Voyager Technical, Mission Control and Chancellor Garth, all seated behind a rather long table with a podium in the middle. The room was suddenly enveloped in silence as those in the audience waited in anticipation for someone to speak.

Chancellor Garth rose from his seat, walked over and stood behind the podium.

"Fellow Voyagers…I must apologize for this rather abrupt ending to your current assignment, but by the end of this meeting, you will realize the rationale as well as the importance for recalling you all here. So, shall we begin?"

"I have assembled all of you here today to brief you on some very serious criminal acts which have been perpetrated against the whole of VHQ over the past several days. My fellow Voyagers, these events are very serious in nature and if not resolved in a timely manner, can and will threaten the stability of the whole of time as well as our entire planet."

At this point in his introduction many of those in the room were stunned by what they had just heard. They began to whisper amongst themselves in a low rumble. Chancellor Garth paused for a moment and then continued.

"Please…please…I understand your concern. But you must realize our intent here today is not to frighten you, but to stress how grave a situation this has become."

"The reason for our use of the recall signal was to get you all back here to help with the investigation. It all comes down to numbers. The more personnel we have to throw at this problem, the faster we will find a resolution. With that said, I would like to turn the floor over to Director Blake and his staff to explain the details. Director Blake."

Chancellor Garth walked back and sat down in his chair as Director Blake made his way to the podium.

"Thank you Chancellor Garth." Blake said as he adjusted the microphone. "Rosalyn, if you would activate the screen, please."

Rosalyn pushed a button on a small remote control and a projection screen slowly lowered itself from above the stage.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. I too want to express my sincerest apology for the rather unorthodox method of calling you back here, but I agree with the Chancellor, the more people we can throw at this, the sooner we will bring it to closure."

Blake cleared his throat and then continued his speech.

"I'd like to take you back several days ago, to a point where it all began; those events which ultimately brought all of you here. It all started early one morning when two of our technicians discovered our latest prototype omni had disappeared from the strong-room of the Omni R & D lab."

Immediately a picture of the ACS100 flashed up on the screen behind them.

"At this point, I would like for Mary, who is the supervisor of our R & D department to come up and explain the features and functions of this new omni. After she finishes, I'll continue with my overview. Mary, if you would."

Blake stepped back as Mary walked up and took her position.

"Hi, my name is Mary Williams and for those of you who don't already know me, I am the supervisor of the Omnichron Research and Development Department. The primary focus of my area is to develop and implement new time-travel technologies with regard to our current method of travel, i.e. the Omnichron."

"For the past several months, we have been working on a secret project at the request of the government. This project was to develop what I would call the next generation Omni. This new device, codenamed ACS100 is unlike any omni you and your colleagues have ever used. Rosalyn, next image, please."

"This is a more detailed image of the ACS100. The ACS100 is very similar to the omnis currently in use out in the field, but with several exceptions. First, as you by now have noticed, the traditional planetary globe and time selection dials used to set space/time coordinates have been eliminated. These controls have been replaced by a set of switches and an interactive voice control system. No longer do you have to dial up the date and location of the time period in question. You just open the lid and in plain everyday language communicate with the unit. An example of a command would be like this. Omni, take me to Earth, the month, February, the day, 18th, the year 1897. Of course this could be shortened to Earth, February 18th 1897."

Jeff poked Bogg on the arm. "Wow, Bogg!" He whispered. "An omni with voice control, neat!"

"Yea, kid, I definitely want one of those." Bogg whispered.

Mary continued with her explanation. "Ok, from the looks on your faces, I'd say you all are quite impressed, but, hold on to your hats, you haven't seen anything yet. Voice control is just one of the new features of this omni. It's most important feature, the one from which its name is derived will leave you speechless."

"Next image please, Rosalyn." She prompted.

"The ACS in the name ACS100 stands for Automatic Cloaking System."

With the unveiling of this latest feature, a low rumbling enveloped the room. Members of the group began to whisper amongst themselves, being awestruck by what they had just heard.

"Ok, I know how shocked you are, but please let me finish." She pleaded.

The room suddenly became quiet again.

"As I said ACS stands for Automatic Cloaking System. This is a feature we developed to allow the user to go into a specific time zone to observe an event without being noticed or affecting the current timeline."

"Bogg!" Jeff exclaimed in a whisper. "We could have used one of those the night we were waiting for Drake on the Santa Maria."

"Yea, it sure would have been nice." Bogg affirmed.

Susan gave the two a stern look as she put her finger to her lips and said "SHHHHH!"

"Bogg and Jeff looked at one another somewhat confused, shrugged their shoulders and turned their attention back to the stage.

"That's pretty much it as far as the ACS100 is concerned. Director Blake, I will pass it back to you."

Mary walked back over and sat down as Blake returned to his position.

"Thank you Mary. Now that you know the specifics of the ACS100, I will continue with my overview."

"As I said earlier, several nights ago we believe someone, somehow gained entry to the Omni R & D department and stole the prototype for this new omni. Two of our lab technicians discovered it missing the following morning. Much to our surprise, upon investigation, there were no obvious signs of intruders or forced entry."

"The next unusual event occurred that very same night. Normally, at the end of the workday, the only people left in the building are our security guards. They make regular rounds every two hours making sure the building is secure. That night a very strange thing happened. As the security guards made their appointed rounds, they were never recorded on any of the building's cameras for a period of time between 9:30 pm and 11:00 pm. If you review the video tape log for that evening, it looks as if no one, including security was in the building during that time. What makes this so interesting is if you pull the video tape from the prior evening, you can see each of the guards on the tape as they made their appointed rounds. The guards who were on duty that evening quickly noticed the problem with the cameras and immediately ran a diagnostic on the entire system. The results of the diagnostic showed no faults in the system. Since then, we have determined that someone actually gained access to the security system and reprogrammed it temporarily to satisfy his own purposes."

"And if that wasn't enough, Mission Control stumbled onto another rather odd situation in their area. They discovered over ninety percent of their field personnel had been dispatched on assignment. The vast majority of these had been in the same time zone and location for more than three days. Oddly enough, none of them have yet to report in."

"In light of this bit of information, Mission Control sent someone into several of those time zones to contact the assigned Voyager and investigate the situation. In each of the areas, the assigned field person had disappeared without a trace, his omni left lying on the ground. In one circumstance, the Voyager in question was observed to be in a struggle with what apparently was an invisible entity, mere moments before he vanished into thin air."

"With this latest discovery, I began to sense there was a pattern to these events and a high probability they were all related. It seemed all too improbable that these events just occurred by random chance. It was then I contacted the Chancellor and explained my theory. By the end of our conversation, we decided to call a meeting to discuss the matter. At this meeting, we discussed the exact same things we have spoken about here. After much discussion, it was decided that our only course of action open to us was to use the recall signal to get our remaining field personnel back here to safety. We needed all of you back here in order to intensify our investigation and to develop a plan of attack."

Blake reached down and took a sip of water from a glass near him.

"That's pretty much an overview of the situation. At this time, I will open the floor up to questions."

Blake then pointed to a person at the back left of the room. "The person in the leather jacket…Please stand and state your question."

The person stood up and began to speak.

"Yes sir. Director Blake. In light of what you have told us thus far, as to the theft of the ACS100, have you singled out any suspects?"

Blake responded. "As of this time, we have no individuals singled out as suspects. Next question…Ah yes…the lady in the blue dress…if you would…"

An older lady in a blue dress with an ornate lace collar stood up.

"I would like to expound on my previous colleagues question… You said you have no individuals singled out as suspects. Have you singled out any organization or group as a potential suspect?"

"Good question…ma'am." Blake replied. "At the present time we have a theory. We think it is a group of the underground criminal element of the planet. But we're not quite sure whom."

Chancellor Garth spoke up. "Excuse me, Director Blake. I'm sorry to interrupt you at this point, but we do have more information at this time on the suspects."

"You are not interrupting me. We're here to share information. By all means, sir, please continue." Blake acknowledged.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. We do have an idea who is at the bottom of this theft and the kidnappings. This information is so new, I have yet to impart it to those who are on this stage at the moment."

"Several months ago, the Prime Minister and Council were made aware of a new group of renegade Voyagers who had banded together to further pursue their own corrupt interests. At that time, we only had a very limited amount of information about them. We didn't even know what they called themselves. However, just yesterday, we have acquired a little more information on this group as well as partial knowledge of their agenda."

"The group has come to call themselves "Paradox". We have yet to determine the significance of this name at this time. What we do know about them is they are made up of several renegade Voyagers who for years have been underground, just waiting for the opportunity to resurface and create havoc on this planet. The big question at this point is what are they trying to accomplish? Hopefully as we concentrate our efforts on this continuing investigation, we will find the answer. Mr. Blake, you may continue."

Bogg raised his hand to summon the attention of Director Blake.

"Thank you sir. Are there any other questions? Yes the gentleman in the brown leather vest."

Suddenly, Bogg stood up and stated his question.

"Yes sir. Uh… Ok. You stated earlier they have the ACS100. Do we have any way of tracking their movements when they use it?" Bogg asked.

"Another good question. The answer is no. But let me explain. The current model omnis do have tracking capabilities built into their programming. However, their programming was written long before this new prototype was developed. The current models cannot track this new omni." Blake explained.

"Next question… Yes, the young lady in the peach chiffon dress." Blake said as Bogg sat back down.

Susan stood up and began to pose her question.

"Again, back to the tracking question. Do we have any method available to us to modify or reprogram the current omnis to be able to track the movements of this prototype?" She asked.

"R & D is frantically working on that problem as we speak. We think we have figured out how to trace the omni's movements, but we have to develop an upgrade to the current omni tracking system to do so. Mary, can you give us the status on this?"

Mary spoke up. "Yes sir. My top two technicians are working on it as we speak. I'd say we will have the tracking upgrade finished and ready for testing by the end of the day."

"Thank you Mary." Blake said as he pointed to another member of the audience. "The gentleman in the pin-stripe suit."

"Sir, have we determined how the Voyager Computer Network was compromised?"

"Yes, I'll turn that question over to our whiz-kid technician, Shawn Mallory. Shawn, if you would."

Mallory stood up and began to respond.

"Yes sir. Over the past couple of days, I have been poking around in every nook and cranny of the Voyager Computer Systems Network, trying to find clues as to how the network was compromised and the security systems overridden. I have discovered how all of this was accomplished, but I still cannot find a direct link to those who are responsible. "

Mallory stopped for a moment and took a sip of water.

"As I had reported to the Director here, somehow, the suspects in question tapped into the network using a rarely used service channel. For the benefit of those of you here who are not computer savvy, a service channel is a way for service technicians to connect to a computer on the network from a remote location in order to diagnose and resolve a problem. These channels are open on the network, but once you are connected, you still have to go through the usual security logon protocols in order to access any information."

"Based on what I have found so far, once they got onto the network, they bounced their signal around the planet through various satellites and other relay points to cover their tracks. After logging onto the network, they erased all traces of their activity. I have been trying to reconstruct their erased log entries, but, as of this moment have not been successful in doing so."

"In addition to this, I discovered what they had done to the security system in order to facilitate the theft of the ACS100. Once they gained access to the network, they logged into the security system and put the console camera display units in a loop. From 9:30 pm that night until somewhere around 10:00, the displays in Command Central showed the same picture continuously from all cameras in the building. While inside the system, they also took the liberty to temporarily disable the buildings' alarm sensors. Even though they were able to cover up their tracks as they logged in, they were not able to cover their tracks completely in the security system. It, unfortunately for them has redundant log files for tracking each computer program used. At this point that's about all I have to report."

Mallory sat back down and took another sip of water. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Thank you Shawn." Blake said as he nodded in approval. "Are there any other questions?"

Blake scanned the room in anticipation of yet one more question from the group. After a few moments of silence, he continued.

"Ok. Since there are no other questions, I will turn the floor over to Chancellor Garth to explain our current plan of attack. Chancellor Garth."

Blake returned to his seat and Chancellor Garth assumed his position at the podium.

"Rosalyn, if you would, please bring up the first image of my presentation on the screen?" He asked politely.

"Currently, there are several goals we need to accomplish. That's where I need the help of each and every one of you here. First and most important, we must stabilize those time zones where our field personnel have vanished. This means we must go into each zone, figure out the problem or problems and resolve them. In order to get the job done safely and quickly, we will assign teams of three field personnel to go into each zone and fix the problems."

"At this point, I'd like for all of you with the exception of Bogg, Susan, Jeffrey and Cole to report to the lobby to receive your assignments."

The three looked at each other, rather bewildered and then focused their attention on the Chancellor while the large group of Voyagers exited the room. After a while, the commotion ceased and the Chancellor began to speak.

"Bogg, Susan, Jeff… I have a special task for you. One piece of information that I purposely omitted from our presentation here is that we now have evidence that your old foe, Drake is somehow connected with this situation. I want the three of you, along with our newest graduate Mr. Cole to try and locate Drake and all the kidnapped field personnel. Are you up to the task?"

The three looked at each other for a moment. Jeff stood up and responded.

"Chancellor Garth, not only are we up to it, when do we start?" He said exuberantly.

Bogg looked up at his partner as he smiled and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Way to go there kid!" He whispered and winked at him.

Garth became serious for a moment. "You know, young Jeffrey, you will be facing unknown dangers just as you have in your past encounters with the rogue Drake."

"Yes sir." Jeff acknowledged. He clasped Bogg and Susan's hands and pulled them to their feet. "We are ready, sir!"

"Ok, I guess it's time for you to meet your new partner. Mr. Cole, if you would, please come down and meet the members of your group."

Cole, who was sitting at the very back of the auditorium, rose from his seat and walked down the aisle until he reached the area where Bogg, Jeff and Susan were now standing. Upon arrival Chancellor Garth made the introductions.

"Bogg, Jeffrey, Susan, I'd like to introduce you to Steven M. Cole our newest graduate from Voyager Academy."

Bogg reached over and shook the young graduate's hand. "Phineas Bogg…nice to meet you."

"A pleasure sir." Cole replied.

Jeff looked up at his new partner and reached out with his hand. "I'm Jeffrey Jones…aka the youngest Voyager on the planet."

"Wow! I finally get to meet the young Jeffrey! It's a pleasure to meet you." Cole exclaimed as he shook the young Voyager's hand. "I have heard quite a bit about you."

Jeff grinned. "I hope it was all good."

"Kid, don't worry, it was." Bogg whispered. "No one knows about that little incident with the tree."

"Bogg!!!" Jeff exclaimed.

Susan had overheard Bogg's attempt to once again tease his partner. She stood there with a puzzled look and then asked."

"Phineas, what's this about Jeffrey and a tree?"

Bogg, sensing Susan's concern attempted to downplay the significance of this event.

"Don't worry, it's nothing… I'll explain later." He replied with a sheepish grin on his face.

"Yes, Phineas, you will. And in great detail, too." Susan said, forcefully.

During this time, Cole had been standing by observing this entire drama unfold in front of him. Once it was over, he stepped forward and began to speak.

"You must be Susan, Bogg's long time love and defender at his trial." Cole said as he reached out and took hold of her hand and kissed it. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

Susan, whose cheeks were now flushed with redness, bowed her head and responded. "Oh a pleasure to meet you too. What a gentleman. It's been quite a while since I have experienced such manners."

Bogg, now somewhat jealous at the actions of the young graduate, interjected. "Ok, now that we all know who we are, shouldn't we get to work?"

Susan turned and whispered into Bogg's ear. "Do I detect a note of jealously in your voice? Rest assured, I will always be your sweetheart."

Upon hearing this, Bogg's cheeks were now as red as Susan's. He attempted to respond but the words just wouldn't come out.

"Bogg, are you ok?" Jeff asked upon feeling the glow coming from Bogg's cheeks.

"Uh, yes, I'm ok. Are you?" He asked.

"Of course, I'm ok. I'm the only one here whose cheeks aren't red." Jeff teased.

Bogg, Susan and Cole began to laugh at Jeff's statement.

At this point, Garth had made his way down from the stage and walked up to the group.

"Now that the introductions are complete, you may take this opportunity to go and get a bite to eat and relax for a bit. The tracking upgrade as Mary said earlier is not yet ready. Once we have that completed, you will be ready to embark on your journey."

"How will we know when it is ready?" Susan asked.

"We will page you over the pa system." Garth replied. "Now go and enjoy yourselves for now."

"Thank you sir. " Bogg said warmly.

The four slowly walked up the aisle and eventually found themselves in the lobby outside. Quickly, Susan ran around in front of the tall wavy-haired pirate and cast a look of contempt upon him. Bogg stopped and took a step back in response.

"I want to know, what's all this about Jeffrey and a tree?" She asked as she reached up and pinched his cheek and held on. "Did you forget to tell me something Voyager Bogg?"

"Owwww…Owwww! That hurts!" Bogg replied, sounding like he had a mouth full of acorns. "Why the death grip, Susan?"

"What about this incident you spoke of? Huh?" Susan prodded.

"What about it?" Bogg asked with a high pitched tone.

"I want to know what happened." She said staunchly. "It's obvious to me Jeffrey had a run in with a tree and even more obvious that you were lax in your duty to protect him. So…you can either tell me what happened or I can continue with my so-called death grip."

Jeff, who had been quiet through this entire ordeal, took a step out from behind his partner, raised his hands and shrugged his shoulders as looked at him.

"Calm down, it's ok Susan. It was just a little accident." Bogg reassured. "Go ahead, Jeff, tell her! Tell her you were unhurt."

Susan turned and looked at Jeff. "Jeffrey, tell me the truth… Was he protecting you?"

Jeff looked at Bogg. Bogg looked back at him with a lowered brow and impatient expression on his face. "Kid, what are you waiting for…Tell her!" He exclaimed.

"It's a long story, Susan." Jeff said sullenly.

"We have plenty of time, Jeffrey. Please do tell me what happened."

"Well, Bogg and I landed in this tree on our last assignment. He told me to stay put while he climbed down to the ground to check things out." Jeff explained.

"He left you there all alone? High up in a tree?" Susan asked as she squeezed Bogg's cheek even harder. "So, Voyager Bogg…what do you have to say for yourself?"

"OWWWW!!! Jeff! Tell her…finish your story…tell her what happened." Bogg pleaded, now in extreme agony.

Jeff continued. "Once he reached the ground, I decided to slide out onto this branch to get a better view of him. Suddenly, the branch gave way under my weight and I tumbled to the ground. Susan, it wasn't his fault. Bogg did everything he could to protect me. I was just too stupid to listen to him. And because of that, I could have been seriously hurt. Luckily though, I wasn't."

Susan released the grip she had on Bogg. He began to rub the area in an attempt to minimize the pain.

"Now I know what a loaf of bread feels like. I think I may be bruised." Bogg whined.

"Here…I know exactly what to do to make it all better." Susan said as she stepped toward Bogg and kissed him on the cheek.

"Does that feel better now?" She asked softly.

Bogg, now sporting a sad, pouty expression, bowed his head.

"I guess so." He pointed to his other cheek and said. "It hurts here too."

"Oh…alright…one more, but that's it." Susan said impatiently.

She kissed Bogg's other cheek, looked at him and smiled. She then put her arm around his waist and leaned against him. Bogg reciprocated. The two, now in each other's arms, slowly began to stroll down the corridor.

Jeff looked at Cole, shook his head and rolled his eyes. Cole laughed as he put his hand on Jeff's shoulder.

"Jeffrey, you have to admit they do make a good couple." Cole said with a smile.

"I guess, if you say so." Jeff replied reluctantly.

Cole winked at Jeff. "I'd say they are going to need a couple of chaperones, don't you think? We better run and catch up with them, before they have a chance to do anything naughty."

"Yea, right!" Jeff said as he and Cole took off running down the corridor.


	13. A Stunning Revelation

****

_VOYAGERS!_ - The Voyager Chronicles  
THE CRIME OF ALL TIME - BOOK 3  
(Sequel to Tastes of Freedom)  
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
October 2007 (Revised 05/2009)  
Previous disclaimers apply

**Chapter 12 – A STUNNING REVELATION **

After the very long and rather taxing briefing, young Mallory went back to his 'Pod and began to tidy his desk. He knew he had to leave quickly, if he was to make it to Paradox's meeting on time. Once he had completed his task, he switched off his light and started walking toward the elevator. Before he had reached the doors, he heard a voice coming from behind him.

"Shawn! Wait, Shawn!" Rosalyn yelled.

Mallory turned and in the distance saw Rosalyn approaching him.

Upon reaching the young Mallory, the two put their arms around each other in a loving embrace.

"Roz, what are you doing here?" He asked.

"I was just delivering some papers to your boss for the Director and just happened to see you leaving."

"Wow, what a coincidence." He said as he attempted to come across as genuine.

"Hey, what are you doing tonight? Maybe we could have dinner and go out to a club or something?" She asked.

Mallory again put his arm around Rosalyn and passionately kissed her on the lips.

"Or maybe we could just go to your place and entertain ourselves." Mallory said in a low, romantic voice.

"Why Shawn are you putting the move on me?" She asked rather innocently.

"You could call it that."

Rosalyn swooned. "Oooooh Shawn! Sounds like the perfect way to end a long hectic day. Why don't I go and whip us up a little something for dinner and you drop by when you are through here. How does that sound?"

Mallory had become engrossed in the passion of the moment. Until now, he had all but forgotten about the Paradox meeting he was to attend this evening.

"Oh…Oh my…I almost forgot…, I have plans for the evening Roz." Mallory exclaimed.

"Plans? Can't you cancel them?" Rosalyn placed her hand slowly around the waist of her young lover and pulled him close to her. "A beautiful young woman has invited you over to her apartment for the evening. What could be more important than that?" She said provocatively.

"I'm so sorry Roz, really, I am. If there was any way I could get out of this, you know I would do so in a heartbeat."

Rosalyn pushed him away. "I know what it is!" She exclaimed. "It's another woman, isn't it?"

Mallory embraced Rosalyn and began to whisper in her ear. "No Roz, it's not another woman. You are the only one for me. It's just business. I promise, I WILL make it up to you somehow. Please forgive me, Roz."

Rosalyn began to calm herself as she once again looked deeply into Mallory's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Shawn. I love you very much and I do forgive you."

"I'm sorry too Roz. I assure you, I will make it up to you." He said as he prostrated himself before his love. "As much as I hate to leave you at this point, I must be going or I will not get to my destination on time."

"Ok Shawn." Rosalyn said as she pressed her lips against his. "You go. If by chance you finish early, my invitation still stands.

Mallory winked at his love. "I'll remember that." He replied as he turned and walked toward the elevator.

"See you soon my love."

"You too my love." He said as the elevator doors closed in front of him.

As he began his journey to Paradox HQ, he found himself yet again in a state of extreme confusion. Meeting Rosalyn had stirred up many feelings inside him, some of which had haunted him days earlier. Once again, he was struggling with his reasons for joining Paradox. After a while, feelings of regret and shame had begun to surface.

He arrived at Paradox HQ, got out of his vehicle and started toward the entrance. In that instant, Evans ran toward him and put his hands out in front of him.

"Shawn. Stop! You can't go inside."

"Why? There's a meeting tonight. I'm supposed to be there." Mallory replied with a puzzled expression.

"That's just it, Shawn. You are not supposed to be here." Evans said with a bit of trepidation.

"What do you mean, Evans?"

Evans put his arm on his young friend's shoulder. "Come, walk with me back to your vehicle and I'll explain."

Upon reaching his vehicle, Evans opened the door and invited Mallory to get in. After closing the door, he ran around to the passenger door, opened it and jumped in as well.

"What's this all about Evans?" Mallory asked.

"Please Shawn, start the vehicle and drive somewhere, anywhere but here and I'll explain as we go."

Mallory started his vehicle and quickly took off down the street.

"Shawn, there have been a few changes at Paradox headquarters since our last meeting."

"What do you mean, changes?"

"Just that, changes. Drake found out about you being assigned to investigate the theft. He called a special meeting earlier today and it was decided that you were a threat to the plan and your services were no longer needed."

"Drake? You've got to be joking. Mr. Drake would never do that to me. He knows me all too well, I would never jeopardize our operations." Mallory confessed.

"I assure you Shawn, he did and the decision was made."

"What were their reasons?" Mallory asked, now highly agitated and disappointed.

"Well Shawn, the main reason was that your interests are now divided. There is no way you can commit yourself 100% to the organization. Due to this, it was decided that you cannot be trusted. They were going to spring this on you at tonight's meeting, but I convinced them to let me do it one on one."

"What do I do now? I feel so used." Mallory said as he nodded his head in disbelief. "They got me to hack into the Voyager Computer Network so they could get the information they needed. Now that they are in, they don't need me any longer. I ought to go to the Director and let him in on the entire operation."

"No, Shawn, you cannot do that! There are stipulations to your dismissal." Evans explained. "It was also decided that if you spill the beans, your life would be forfeit."

Stunned by this statement, Mallory slammed on the brakes and his vehicle came to a screeching halt.

"What? They…they want to kill me?" He asked.

"Yes."

"How do you feel about all of this, Evans?"

"I am scared for you Shawn. Really scared. You know how Doc feels about you. All he needs is an excuse to do you in."

"What about you? You have been my friend for many years. They know that. It's a fact! What are YOU going to do?" Mallory asked, showing a great deal of concern for his friend.

"I don't know at this moment. Shawn, they know that you told me about the investigation. I never told them I knew, primarily, because I figured you had the situation under control. Now that they have found out, I feel trapped with no obvious means to escape." Evans explained, nervously. "But, I will figure out something. For now, for your own safety, get your backside back to VHQ and keep your mouth shut. If I find out anything else, I will contact you."

Evans opened the door and got out of the vehicle. "Can I drive you back to HQ?" Mallory asked.

"No, thank you, I'll walk back. The exercise will do me good. Remember, keep your mouth shut! You hear me!"

"I will. Thank you for going to bat for me."

"You're welcome, now get going."

Evans closed the door and Mallory sped off down the road. Minutes later, he arrived at his apartment, opened the door and went inside. As he made his way to his bedroom, he began to take off his coat and tie in preparation for bed. After hanging his coat on a hanger in the closet, he retrieved his pajamas from a nearby drawer and put them on. After pulling back the covers, he slowly crawled into bed. Exhausted, both mentally and physically from the excitement of the day, it was just a few moments before he quickly fell fast asleep.

-------------

The next morning, Mallory awakened from his deep sleep, sat up and began to yawn. He threw back the covers and went into the bathroom to begin his daily ritual of showering and shaving. Once he was squeaky clean, he wrapped himself in a towel and returned to his bedroom, making his way to the closet. Before he could get dressed, there came a knock at the front door. He walked to the door, peeped through the keyhole and realized it was Rosalyn. After unlocking the door, he slowly opened it.

"Rosalyn, what are you doing here?" He asked.

"Can I come in? I really need to talk to you." Rosalyn said with a serious tone.

"Well. " Mallory looked at himself and grimaced, since he was just a little short on clothing at the moment. "Come on in, but you'll have to excuse me, I'm not yet dressed."

Mallory opened the door, stepped back and allowed her to enter.

"Ooooh Shawn, nice body. You've been working out lately." Rosalyn said lustfully.

"Yes. Thank you. Please make yourself comfortable while I go put on some clothes."

Mallory quickly sprinted back to the bedroom. Minutes later he came out fully clothed. He walked over and sat down on the sofa next to Rosalyn.

"Ok, what's so urgent that you had to come all the way here to tell me?" He asked.

"Shawn, didn't you tell me once upon a time, you had a friend named Evans?"

"Yes, Jake Evans, he's been a friend of mine for years."

"Well, I don't know how to tell you this…it was on this morning's news broadcast." Rosalyn said as she stumbled on her words.

"What's on the news? Roz? What is it?" He asked.

"I hate to tell you…he's…he's…" She said as she stumbled on her words.

"He's what Roz…Tell me…" Mallory exclaimed.

"He's dead Shawn." Rosalyn replied. "I'm so sorry. I thought it would be better if I told you in person. "

"Dead? Evans is dead? How? What?" Mallory exclaimed now distraught with emotion.

Rosalyn slid over and put her arm around Mallory and started to rub his back in a consoling manner.

"Yes, he's dead. The police found him early this morning on the side of a street in the city. He had been bound, gagged and shot execution style." She explained.

"I can't believe it. I just spoke to him last night. " Mallory said as he put his head in his hands.

"I understand how you must feel. I'm so very sorry, Shawn." She said softly. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"No…wait a minute… Yes there is. I really need a hug at this point."

"Sure. Come here." Rosalyn replied as she put her arms around her love and held him tightly. Mallory sunk his head deeply into her shoulders as Rosalyn kissed him on the top of his head.


	14. Secrets and Suspicions

****

_VOYAGERS!_ - The Voyager Chronicles  
THE CRIME OF ALL TIME - BOOK 3  
(Sequel to Tastes of Freedom)  
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
October 2007 (Revised 05/2009)  
Previous disclaimers apply

**Chapter 13 – SECRETS AND SUSPICIONS**

Mallory sat there for a time, his head in the loving arms of Rosalyn. His heart was full of grief for his friend and his mind still in a state of disbelief. Suddenly, he raised his head and sat up.

"My God, they killed him!" He yelled as tears slowly began to run down his cheek. "And it's all my fault!"

"Who killed him? Shawn! Who?" Rosalyn asked. "Why is it your fault?"

"Uh…Oh…I don't know." Mallory replied, feigning ignorance.

"Shawn Mallory, you know something about this! What's going on?" She asked pointedly.

Mallory bowed his head, feeling ashamed and full of remorse. "Nothing…Roz! It's nothing."

"Nothing? Your long time friend has just been found on the street, murdered, and you say it's nothing? C'mon…Something's not right here…I can feel it. Are you in trouble?"

Mallory leaned over and put his head in his hands. In his extreme 'bout of grief, he unknowingly had given Rosalyn just enough information about his secret endeavors to cause her to become suspicious. Now quite concerned for her new love, she reached over and put her hand under Mallory's chin and raised it.

"Shawn. Please, tell me. Whatever it is, no matter how bad, we will get through it together, ok?" She reassured. After wiping a stray tear from his eye, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

Shawn attempted to smile, but in his current state could not bring himself to do so.

"Roz, it's a very long and complicated story." Mallory said.

"That's ok, just start at the beginning and tell me all about it."

Mallory sat back on the sofa, and bowed his head once again as he folded his hands in his lap.

"Roz, I…I'm so ashamed of myself…I can't believe I let this happen to me."

Rosalyn took Mallory's hand in her own and began to stroke it reassuringly.

"We're human and we all make mistakes. It's all a part of the journey. Whatever you have done, it can be fixed."

"Thank you Roz. You don't know how much I appreciate you being here."

"Now take a deep breath, relax and tell me what's going on."

Mallory raised his head, took a deep breath and began to tell his story.

"It all started several months ago, when I was contacted by Jake Evans. At that time, I was fed up with all of the corruption and politics that had permeated our government. I wanted to contribute in some way to a cause that would try to effect change. Knowing this, Evans introduced me to a new group he had just formed. The whole purpose of this group was to determine a means to affect change in the government. Or, at least that's what I was told at the time."

"Ok, so you joined a group of people who wanted to promote change in government? So far so good. Sounds like you were trying to do your civic duty." She said in a supportive way.

"Yea, civic duty, boy was I ever misled. At the time, I thought I had become a member of a group who wanted to petition the government to make change. You know, rallies, picketing, and such. However, as time went on, the focus of the group changed."

"What do you mean by changed?" She asked curiously.

"It changed. No longer was it about rallies, picketing and peaceful protesting. After a while, the members of this group began to speak of plans of taking over the government."

"Wow, Shawn, that sounds treasonous."

"I know…All too well. Ok where was I. Oh yeah. It was at that point, a new member arrived and took over the group."

"A new member?"

"Yes, and it was none other than my old instructor at Voyager Academy…Drake himself."

"Drake? I thought he was dead." She stated in disbelief.

"No, he's very much alive. He came in and told the group he had a means by which we could accomplish all that we wanted. But, to do so, we would have to make him the leader."

"So then what happened?"

"Evans decided to step down as the leader and let him take over. It was at that point, things took a turn for the worse. Once he was leader, he informed us of his plan."

Rosalyn, sat there silent and totally engrossed in Mallory's every word.

"And what was that?"

"Well, first he wanted us to break into Voyager Technical and steal the ACS100. That was the first part of his plan. In order for this heist to be pulled off, they needed me to hack into the Voyager Computer Network, disable the alarms and security cameras."

"Oh my God, Mallory, you were involved in the theft of the ACS100?"

"Yes, Roz. I was and I'm so ashamed of what I did."

"What happened next?"

"Once we acquired the ACS100, the next phase of the plan required me to get a copy of the current list of field personnel and their current location. Their next operation would involve using the ACS100 and kidnapping each and every person on that list. In order for Drake's plan to succeed, he had to undermine the foundations of the government. The first of these would be Mission Control."

"Shawn, just out of curiosity, what is the name of this group?" Rosalyn asked.

"They call themselves Paradox." Mallory replied.

"Paradox! I should have known. The Chancellor was right all along."

Mallory raised his head. "What?" He asked, rather puzzled by her response.

"Never mind about that. Have you told anyone else about this?"

"I have been giving the Director information, little by little in his status reports. That's what he called me to his office about. He wanted me to investigate and determine how the Voyager Computer Network was infiltrated."

"Now I know why you were so despondent when you came out of his office that day…You were virtually being asked to rat on yourself." Rosalyn said softly.

"Yea, Roz. After the meeting, I was in a panic. I didn't know what I was going to do." Mallory confessed. "I finally came up with the idea to fake the investigation and feed the director the information he was looking for in small, yet continuous chunks."

"That's pretty much it. You are the only person who knows the real truth, the whole story. Roz, what am I going to do? If I go and inform the powers that be of what is going on, they will kill me just as they did Evans."

Rosalyn leaned back against the sofa and sat there for a while, silent, as she pondered his current predicament. After a few moments, she exclaimed, "I've got it!"

Mallory's eyes perked up. "What?" He asked.

"I know what we need to do. Shawn, you don't need to tell the powers that be about this… There's only one person who needs to know this information. We both know who it is. And by telling him what you've told me, you'll give him the information he needs to catch this group and put them out of business."

"Who is this person, Roz?"

"At the briefing today, he along with his young partner and two other Voyagers were assigned by the Chancellor to take the lead in the investigation."

"Bogg? How can he help me?" Mallory asked.

"Shawn, at this moment, you need some way to atone for your past deeds. By telling Bogg, you will begin your journey."

"But what if he tells the Director or the Chancellor." Mallory asked with a note of fear in his voice.

"Shawn you were obviously misled by this group of thugs. They coerced you into performing these acts, by sugar coating them as being a way to bring about change. I believe once you explain it to him, he will understand." She reassured.

"I hope you are right. Otherwise, it will be the end for me." He replied grimly. "I could spend the rest of my life in a four by six room with iron doors."

"Don't worry. Once I get to work this morning, I'll contact him and set up a meeting between the three of us later today. Once we're together, you can tell him what you have told me and he should have enough to put a stop to this Paradox once and for all."

"How are you going to get in touch with him without Paradox finding out?" He asked. "Drake has contacts inside Voyager Technical. He told me so himself."

"Leave it to me. I will find a way. I didn't get the administrative assistant's job, based on my looks alone. Trust me."

"Ok, if you say so."

Rosalyn stood up and slowly walked to the door. "You're sure you are ok?" She asked.

"I'm fine. Really! Now go, before you are late." He said as he opened the door for her. "Thanks for the shoulder."

"You're quite welcome. See you later then."

Mallory slowly closed the door, went over and crashed on the sofa. He sat there for a while, staring at the ceiling as he tried to come to grips with the murder of his long-time friend. Suddenly, he began to speak. "Jake Evans, when all is said and done, the person who did this to you will pay…in the same way you paid…with their life. You can bet on it." With this said, he quickly jumped to his feet, put on his coat and ran out the door.


	15. Revenge A Dish Best Served Cold

****

_VOYAGERS!_ - The Voyager Chronicles  
THE CRIME OF ALL TIME - BOOK 3  
(Sequel to Tastes of Freedom)  
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
October 2007 (Revised 05/2009)  
Previous disclaimers apply

**Chapter 14 – REVENGE…A DISH BEST SERVED COLD **

Later that morning, Mallory arrived at VT and went directly to his 'pod. For the next few hours, he spoke not a word nor did he move even the slightest bit. In an attempt to distract himself from the heavy burden of guilt that now lay upon his shoulders, he had partially closed himself off to the outside world. As he sat in front of his computer screen, furiously typing away on his keyboard, a call came in on his Visiphone. As it continued to beep, one of his colleagues, who happened to be passing by at the moment, heard it and walked over and tapped Mallory on the shoulder.

"Hey, Mallory!"

Mallory, startled by his colleague's touch, almost leaped from his chair. He turned in his chair and looked up at the employee.

"Why did you have to scare me like that?" Mallory asked as he gasped for air.

"I'm sorry Mallory. I was walking past your door and heard your Visiphone ringing. I thought I'd come and check on you make sure you were alright."

"Oh my. You're right, my 'phone is ringing. I've become so engrossed in my work, I didn't even hear it ring. Thanks for letting me know."

"Don't mention it." The employee said as he turned and walked through the door.

Once he had left, Mallory pushed a button on his visiphone and an image of Rosalyn appeared.

"Roz, oh it's just you." He said as he attempted to recover from being startled.

"Yes, Shawn, it's just me. What took you so long to answer? I was beginning to think something had happened to you."

"I'm sorry Roz. I was so engrossed in my work, I didn't even hear it ring."

"Well, I've got good news for you." She whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" He asked curiously.

"Because I don't want everyone to hear."

"Ok. I got in touch with the person we talked about earlier and explained your predicament to him. He said he would come by your 'pod and talk to you."

"Did he say when he would be arriving?" He asked.

"I'd say he should be there in a few moments."

"A few moments? Oh my…"

"Mr. Mallory, I presume?" Bogg said as he stood in the door to Mallory's 'pod.

"He's here…gotta go!" Mallory said to Rosalyn as he pushed the button to end the call.

"Please Mr. Bogg, come in and close the door behind you."

Bogg walked through the door with Jeff close behind him and closed the door.

"I hope you don't mind, but I brought along my partner." Bogg said warmly.

"He's your partner? Wow, they are starting them young these days, aren't they?"

Jeff looked over to Bogg and rolled his eyes.

"Mr. Mallory, this is Jeffrey Jones." Bogg said as he made his introduction.

"So you're Mr. Jones. I've heard quite a bit about you. Your work is absolutely amazing. You probably aren't aware of it, but you are somewhat of a legend here at VHQ."

Jeff's eyes grew wide and the biggest smile came across his face. "Woooooooow, a legend…and at my age…" He exclaimed.

"Yea, kid… a legend… Don't get a swelled head over it though." Bogg teased.

"Bogg!!!!"

"Anyway, enough about the 'legend'. We have more important issues to discuss." Bogg said as he redirected the conversation "Mr. Mallory, why don't you tell us about this group you are a member of?"

"Please Voyager Bogg, call me Shawn." Mallory said with a hint of unrest in his voice. "Well, it's a long story."

"Well, Shawn, call me Bogg." Bogg said with a smile. "Please. Relax. I'm not here to do anything other than gather information. Now, please begin… we don't have much time."

"I'm just surprised you are here. I thought you were going to start your investigation yesterday evening once the R&D people finished with the tracer upgrade."

"Uh…umm…it's like this Shawn. R&D is still working on the tracer upgrade. They ran into some technical difficulties. Now please, tell us about your situation."

"Ok, where should I begin." Mallory muttered.

"At the beginning would be nice." Jeff quipped.

"Ok, it all started several months ago, when a friend of mine persuaded me to join this new group that he had formed. He knew that I was very much in favor of government reform here. He thought this would be a great opportunity for me to take part in changing the status quo."

"This friend of yours, what's his name?" Bogg asked.

"Jake Evans was his name. He had been a friend of mine for many years." Mallory said with a note of sadness in his voice.

"You said 'had been'. Is this the guy they found on the street this morning, murdered, execution style?" Bogg asked pointedly.

"Yes. He was…and it's all my fault!" Mallory exclaimed as he was overcome with emotion.

Bogg reached out and put his hand on Mallory's shoulder. "I understand how you feel, Shawn. But you must not blame yourself for what happened." He consoled. "From what I gathered from speaking with Rosalyn, you had no control over the situation. You are just as much a hostage as those poor field personnel that have been kidnapped."

After a few moments, Mallory regained his composure and continued to tell the story.

"I apologize… for my bit of emotional distress there." Mallory said as he sniffled. "I am not yet over losing him."

"That's ok. Now…please continue with your story."

For the next half hour, Mallory told the rest of his story in great detail to the two Voyagers, who sat there silent and held totally captive by his every word.

"Well, guys, that's about it." Mallory said as he completed his debriefing.

"Wow, what a plot." Jeff exclaimed. "This has to be Drake's most devious plot to date."

"You said it. Anytime Drake is involved, you know it's going to be a long, drawn-out scheme." Bogg acknowledged. "The question is at this point, how do we find him and his merry band of thugs?"

"Up until the evening before Evans died, we met at an old abandoned warehouse not far from here, but, after they got rid of me, they moved their meeting place." Mallory explained.

"This Doc fellow you spoke of. You said he told Drake of the ideal place to keep prisoners. Do you remember the name?" Bogg asked curiously.

"It was an island, as I recall. Alvarez, Alopez, or something like that."

Bogg looked at Jeff. "Is either of these names familiar to you?"

Jeff sat there silent, pondering Bogg's question and attempting to decipher Mallory's clues.

"Anything come to mind…kid?"

"Nope, nothing." Jeff replied.

"That's ok…Maybe it will come to you later."

"I hope so. For all our sakes." Jeff whispered.

"Shawn, as much as I hate to do so, I need for you to keep quiet about what you have told us today. Under no circumstances are you to discuss this with anyone. Just continue with the plan you had come up with. Give the Director his status reports just as you have been doing. If something happens and you remember any other details, let Rosalyn know and she can get in touch with me. Ok?" Bogg ordered.

"Yes sir. I understand." Mallory affirmed.

"Oh, before we go, one other thing."

"What's that, Bogg?"

"For the time being, I believe you need to find an alternate place to live. At least until this ordeal is over."

"Where do I go? I don't have many friends." Mallory asked.

"What about Rosalyn? As I understand it, you two are quite close." Bogg said and then winked at Mallory.

"Mallory smiled. That's a good idea!" He exclaimed. "Thanks!"

"Not a problem. Let's go kid. We've got a date with Drake."

"Yea, right."

Bogg and Jeff walked out the door and made their way down the long hallway to the elevator. Halfway to their destination, the two were stunned by sound of a voice coming from behind them.

"Voyager Bogg." The voice said softly.

Bogg looked at his partner and asked. "Did you hear something?"

"Yea, it was a voice and it came from behind us." Jeff said as he turned to his partner.

The two suddenly stopped in their tracks. As they looked behind them, they were surprised to find no one around.

"Huh! Must have been the wind or something." Bogg said, sloughing off the incident as he and Jeff continued on their journey.

"Voyager Bogg. STOP!" The voice commanded.

The two, stunned by what they had just experienced, immediately froze in their tracks.

"Uhhh…Bogg…I'd say that was definitely…not the wind." Jeff whispered.

Bogg turned and yelled out. "Who's there? C'mon show yourself!"

Once again, the evil sounding voice continued. "Voyager Bogg, abandon your investigation and your pursuits or you will be sorry. Very, very sorry!"

"And why should I? If I don't, what are you going to do about it?" He asked.

There was no response.

Suddenly, Jeff began to yell. "What? Stop! Let me go. Boooogg, help!"

Bogg turned to see his partner struggling with what apparently was an invisible force of some kind.

"Whoever you are, let him go. It's me you want! I'm here, come get me!" Bogg yelled.

Before he could take a step forward to help him, Jeff vanished.

Mallory had heard all the commotion in the hallway outside and came running He arrived at the scene just seconds before Jeff disappeared.

"Jeff-rey!!" Bogg exclaimed.

"Bogg, what….what happened here?" Mallory asked.

Bogg, unable to comprehend what he had just witnessed did not answer. He stood there silent, staring off into the distance.

"Bogg, are you ok?" Mallory asked as he put his hand on his shoulder.

Now in a state of shock, Bogg dropped to his knees and put his head in his hands. "Oh my God, they've got Jeff!" He cried.


	16. A Declaration of War

****

_VOYAGERS!_ - The Voyager Chronicles  
THE CRIME OF ALL TIME - BOOK 3  
(Sequel to Tastes of Freedom)  
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
October 2007 (Revised 05/2009)  
Previous disclaimers apply

**Chapter 15 – A DECLARATION OF WAR **

Susan and Cole had spent the better part of the morning waiting in a small lounge just down the hall from the cafeteria. Bored from the long wait, Cole had dozed off to sleep. His partner on the other hand was reading one of her favorite novels in an attempt to pass the time. Little did they know, however, their circumstances were about to change. Without warning, Bogg stormed through the door as if the building was on fire.

Startled from her partner's unorthodox entrance, Susan glanced up from her reading and saw Bogg standing in front of her. The expression now on Bogg's face was that of sheer terror. For the many years she had known her love, she had seen many sides of him. She had experienced his joy, anger, disappointment and sadness. Never in all these years had she seen him like this. It was very apparent to her something was terribly, terribly wrong.

"Phineas!" Susan exclaimed. "What's wrong?"

Out of breath from his wind-sprint, he uttered one word before he collapsed onto the floor in front of her.

"Jeff-rey".

Susan threw down her book. She jumped from her seat, ran over and knelt down beside him.

"Phineas!" She yelled as she attempted to revive him. "What's happened to Jeffrey?"

She attempted to wake Cole, who was still fast asleep, even after all of the excitement.

"Cole! COLE! Wake up, Cole!" She yelled.

"Yea, What? What's going on." He replied as he tried to come back to life.

"Get over here Cole." She yelled. "Something's happened to Jeffrey and Bogg has collapsed."

Cole slowly pried himself off the sofa and ran over to her side.

"Help me lift him and get him to the sofa."

With Cole on one side and Susan on the other, the two struggled to lift their partner from the floor. In a feat of great strength, the two dragged Bogg's limp body over to the sofa.

"Can you run to the cafeteria and get me a wet cloth so I can wipe his brow?" Susan asked.

"Yes, sure. I'll be right back."

"Wait! One more thing. See if they have a first aid kit."

"Sure. Back in a flash!" Cole said as he ran out the door.

Susan turned her attention back to Bogg. She rubbed his chest and then his cheek.

"Phineas, wake up! We can't help Jeffrey if you don't wake up. Please Phineas, you have to wake up." Susan pleaded.

After what seemed like mere seconds, Cole returned with a first aid kit and a damp cloth.

"Here Susan, take this." He said as he gave her the cloth.

She began to wipe his face and then placed it over his forehead.

"Cole, look inside the kit and see if you can find some smelling salts."

He opened the kit and started to rummage through its contents. "Found it!" He exclaimed as he pulled the small vial from the box and handed it to Susan. She took the vial, opened it and then waived it underneath Bogg's nostrils. Upon taking in a whiff of the overpowering aroma, Bogg jerked his head to one side and coughed as he pushed the vial away from his face.

"Phineas, Phineas, wake up! Are you ok?" She asked.

"I was… until you put that…" Bogg replied, still snorting and coughing.

"I was until you put that awful potion under my nose." He quipped.

"Now that's the Phineas Bogg I know." She said softly.

Once he stopped coughing and started breathing normally again, reality finally set in.

"Jeffrey!"

"Phineas, where's Jeffrey? What's happened to him?" She asked her love.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you. They've got Jeff."

"Who's got him?" Cole asked as he kneeled beside Susan.

"Paradox! They ambushed us after we left Mallory's office."

"Can you tell us what happened?" Cole asked.

"We were on our way back here, when I heard a voice behind us call out for me. Jeff and I stopped for a moment, looked behind us and found nothing there. So we continued walking. Then we heard the voice again."

"What did it say?" Susan asked.

"It said, 'Voyager Bogg… Abandon your investigation or you will be sorry. Very, very sorry!' All at once, I heard Jeff scream. That's when I looked over and saw something had a hold on him. He was struggling against something that could not be seen. Before I could reach out and help the kid, he vanished." Bogg said.

Distraught with emotion, Bogg shook his head in disbelief. "If they wanted to take someone, it should have been me. Now, they've got Jeff." He cried out. "Susan, what am I going to do? If anything happens to him, it won't be the same. I will never be able to forgive myself."

Susan took Bogg's hand in her own and rubbed his back in an attempt to calm him. "We WILL find Jeffrey. We will never give up until he's back in your arms. Besides, Drake wouldn't dare harm him. If word ever got out that he harmed a fellow Voyager and a young child at that, there would be no where in the universe for him to hide."

"What about Jeff? He's out there all alone in a strange place, with no way to get back here." Bogg said as tears began to run down his cheek.

"Shhhh! Remember, this is Jeffrey we are speaking of" Susan admonished. "You need to give him some credit. Phineas, you know all too well this is not the first time he's been alone and definitely not his first 'bout with danger. What about the time he left you to help Edison invent the light bulb. Remember that? Edison took the omni apart, trying to figure out what made it tick. At that time, you had no idea where he was and if he was safe. He had to rely on his instincts to help Edison with his light bulb as well as to convince him to put the omni back together so he could get back to you."

Bogg lifted his head and began to smile somewhat. "I know… He IS quite a kid. If anyone can figure out how to get out of a situation, he can."

"Yes, he will be ok, but he can't get out of this one alone. He's depending on you…on us…to come to his rescue. And you must and we must all be strong for him." Susan reassured.

"You are as always, right. That's why I love you." Bogg whispered.

Susan put her hand to her bosom, "Why Phineas, you've never said that to me before."

"Hopefully, it won't be the last time either." He replied.

At this point, Cole interrupted the two. "What's next on the agenda, Bogg?"

"I'll tell you what!" Bogg exclaimed as he quickly sat up. "Drake has made the first move…so now I will make the next. He's kidnapped my kid and no one, I MEAN NO ONE kidnaps my kid."

Bogg shook his tightly clenched fists in the air. "DRAKE…THIS MEANS WAR!"

"Yes sir, General Bogg!" Cole responded as he stood at attention and saluted his partner.

"Ok sir, now that we've declared war on our enemy, what's our next operation?" Cole asked.

"Uhh…um… We sit down and wait." Bogg said sheepishly. "We wait for R&D to finish the tracer upgrade."

The three Voyagers sat back down on the sofa and proceeded to wait.

"While we wait, why don't we go over the facts that we know so far." Susan urged. "Who wants to start?"

"Susan, why don't you start first?" Bogg asked softly.

"Something told me you were going to say that. Ok, then, I'll start. At this point we know we are dealing with the criminal element of the planet, along with Drake. We also know he's planning another hostile takeover of the government."

"Correct." Bogg acknowledged.

Cole chimed in. "We know they have taken the ACS100 and have used it to kidnap a majority of the field personnel, as well as Jeff."

"Also correct" Bogg stated.

"We know they have gained access to the Voyager Computer Network." Susan recited.

"Yes." Bogg affirmed

"Bogg, what about the information Mallory gave you?" Cole asked.

"I was just about to get to that." Bogg replied. "We now know the name of the group responsible. Paradox. We also know several of the key player's names, Doc, Ian, and Max. Doc is a dangerous sort of rogue, who will do just about anything to further his own interests. Max is his sidekick. Ian, pretty much is along for the ride. His focus is to see how much he can stuff in his pockets. Of course we all know what Drake wants."

As Susan listened, a rather curious expression came over her face. "You know, Phineas, two of those names sound familiar to me." Susan interjected. "Doc and Ian… Where have I heard those names before??? Wait, I know now. Ian… that was the name of the Voyager they caught inside a Swiss bank about five years ago. He went there to stop the theft of some rare jewel and instead was caught stuffing his pockets with gold."

"Oh yea! I remember now." Bogg concurred. "There was a big controversy at VHQ about it. He went before the Voyager Tribunal and they sentenced him to five years in the Rehab Unit for his bad deeds. You mean he's involved in this?"

"Phineas, I'm not positive, but I believe it's the same person."

"What about the other guy, Doc?" Bogg asked.

"You know, I remember him now. He was a real renegade. Based on what I recall about him, he could be Drake's equal or even surpass him. Many years ago, he committed several major crimes and the authorities were never able to capture him. They think he disappeared underground."

At this point, Bogg spoke of the last piece of information they had about the group.

"The only piece of information that is sort of incomplete at this time is the location where they are holding the kidnapped Voyagers."

"Sort of incomplete?" Cole asked.

"Yea, sort of." Bogg replied.

"What do you mean, sort of?" Susan asked.

"Mallory could not remember the name of the place exactly. He recalled hearing them speak of an island somewhere on Earth. They called it Alvarez, Alopez or something like that."

All of a sudden, a twinkle came to Cole's eyes. "Wait a minute!...An island…Wait, I remember now. There was a place we talked about in my Earth history class. Uhh…umm…Hold on! I know…I've got it now!"

"Come on Cole, spit it out." Susan prompted.

"We had a discussion one day about a prison on Earth that was built on an island. It was virtually impenetrable and escape proof." Cole said as he continued to exercise his brain cells. "Now what was its name? It's on the tip of my tongue. Got it! It was called Alcatraz."

"That must be it, Alcatraz!" Bogg exclaimed. "Now, if we only knew the time period."

"Well, we will find that once we have the tracer upgrade."

"Look out Drake, I'm coming to get you." Bogg said with an evil tone. "And this time, revenge will be mine."

Suddenly, the three heard a voice over the building's p.a. system.

"Voyager Bogg, please report to Omni R&D. Voyager Bogg, please report to Omni R&D"

"Hey…it looks like our prayers have been answered." Bogg said as the three headed toward the door.


	17. Poof and Another One's Gone

****

_VOYAGERS!_ - The Voyager Chronicles  
THE CRIME OF ALL TIME - BOOK 3  
(Sequel to Tastes of Freedom)  
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
October 2007 (Revised 05/2009)  
Previous disclaimers apply

**Chapter 16 – POOF!… AND ANOTHER ONE'S GONE! **

Bogg, Susan and Cole, now on their way to the R & D department, walked as fast as their legs could carry them to the elevator at the end of the long corridor. As they quickly passed by Security Command Central, they were shaken by the sound of a loud claxon, followed by an unnerving broadcast over the p.a. system.

"Attention all personnel…This is Command Central…We have a level-1 security breach… All personnel report to their assigned duty stations… I repeat…We have a level-1 security breach… All personnel report to their assigned duty stations until further notice. Thank you."

The three Voyagers stopped and ran back to Command Central to investigate. Once inside the door, they were met by supervisor Henderson.

"What's going on here?" Bogg asked.

"We have had a level-1 security breach." Henderson said while attempting to bring order to the chaos.

"I gathered that from the announcement." Bogg said matter-of-factly. "Where did it occur?"

"We have very few details at this moment, but it occurred in the Chancellor's office on the 8th floor."

"Don't tell me…Was it the Chancellor?" Cole asked.

"Unfortunately, you guessed it." Henderson replied. "We just received a call from his assistant several minutes ago. She said he got into a verbal disagreement with someone in his office. When she went to the door to check on him, she saw him struggling and then suddenly he vanished from her sight."

"Smokin' bat's breath!" Bogg exclaimed. "They've got Jeff and now Garth."

"What? They kidnapped Jeffrey? When?" Henderson asked.

"Earlier today." Bogg answered with sadness.

"Voyager Bogg, Susan, Mr. Cole, what are we going to do? We can't just stand around and let these thugs continue chipping away at this organization. We have to do something!" Henderson said frantically.

"What can we do, sir?" Susan asked. "Until R&D completes the tracer upgrade, we have no way of locating them. In addition, there's no way to predict where they will strike next."

"Well now that Chancellor Garth has been taken, we all know who is next on the list." Henderson noted with a great deal of concern in his voice.

"Yea, the Prime Minister. That's whose… " Bogg said before he paused for a moment to gather his thoughts.

"Or maybe not… If I know Drake, he won't go after the big guy until all those under him have been taken. So, I'd say the Council of Six will be next on his list. You might want to round them up and put a 24 hour guard on them.

"Is there nothing else we can do at this point?" Henderson asked.

"No, there's nothing you can do, but there's plenty for us to do. We have to get the tracer, find these criminals and put a stop to them." Bogg said confidently.

"Yes sir, and the more we stand around here arguing, the more time Paradox has to get a greater hold over us." Cole stated wryly.

"Right!" Bogg affirmed. "Now c'mon you two, let's go. We now have another person to rescue."

The three Voyagers quickly ran down the hallway and took the elevator up to the second floor where R&D was located. Before the doors could completely open, Bogg squeezed his way through them and took off down the hallway.

"Bogg! Wait for us!!" Susan said as she and Cole attempted to keep up.

Bogg, who was running on pure adrenaline, burst through the door of R&D and ran into the room. As he looked around the room for signs of life, he spotted JT at a workstation on the opposite side of the room. As he ran over to get to the young technician, he knocked over several items and created quite a mess.

Mary heard all the noise outside and promptly came out to investigate.

"What's going on out here?" She asked as she stopped and put her hands on her hips. "This is a research lab, not a circus!"

Bogg heard Mary's ranting, stopped for a moment and looked back.

"I take it the tracer upgrade is ready?" He asked.

"Yes, provided there's anything left of it after you've stampeded in here." Mary scolded.

Bogg looked back at Susan and Cole who were still standing at the entrance. They had observed the entire event unfold before their eyes and were struggling to contain their almost uncontrollable laughter. Bogg, with a rather sheepish grin on his face and some color in his cheeks, shrugged his shoulders. He turned to Mary and began to apologize profusely as he stooped down and tried to clean up the mess he had made.

"Mary, I'm… I'm so sorry…I didn't mean to… I hope I haven't broken anything important." Bogg said, remorsefully.

By this time, Susan and Cole had strolled over where their partner was now prostrating himself in an attempt to regain favor with Mary.

"Voyager Bogg, please, don't worry about the mess. You have more important things to attend to." Mary reassured. "If you three will follow me over to JT's workstation, we will install the tracer upgrade in your omnis"

"Wait a minute!" Bogg said. "That's ok for Susan and Cole's omnis, but what about mine? My omni is so old, it doesn't have a tracer circuit."

Mary, in an attempt to lighten up the situation started to tease the Voyager.

"Well Voyager Bogg, you must give us some credit. You know, all of us here in the R&D department really do care about the efforts of our field personnel. We also value their opinions as well. You know, thanks to omni technology, there are no complaints that go unheard."

Without realizing it, Bogg had just fallen for Mary's prank. He dropped himself into the drink by making his next off the cuff comments.

"Complaints? Who's been complaining?" Bogg said, now feeling a little bit antsy.

"As much as I hate to say it, over the past several years, we have heard all of your whining and complaining, Voyager Bogg. You know, about your tired old omni, especially when everyone else has a state of the art model."

"What? Me…complain? Naaa, you must have me confused with another Voyager. Maybe…I know…It's Jeff. That's it…You've heard Jeff complaining."

"Bogg, how could you?" Susan scolded. "How could you say that knowing the predicament he is in now?"

"I'm sorry Susan." Bogg replied as he bowed his head in shame.

"You'd better be." Susan said staunchly.

"Well Voyager Bogg…In light of all this complaining, I will need you to surrender your omni to me." Mary demanded.

"My omni… You're taking my omni away, why?" Bogg asked.

"Well, based on my observations as well as your complaints, I'd say you no longer have any need for it." Mary said as she turned and winked at Susan and Cole.

"Yes, I do…I really do need it!" Bogg exclaimed.

"Voyager Bogg, do I need to get security up here to intervene in this situation?" Mary threatened, as she attempted to keep a straight face.

"No ma'am." Bogg said reluctantly. He then reached to his belt, unclipped the omni and handed it to her.

"JT, if you will put this away for me." Mary said as JT took the omni from her hand and replaced it with a small box from his workstation.

"Well, without an omni, I guess I'm not a Voyager anymore." Bogg said as he bowed his head and turned to leave the room.

"Wait a minute, we're not done here." Mary said with a serious look.

"What now? I've lost my partner and now my omni. What else are you going to do?"

Susan, now about to lose it from seeing Bogg so sad and disheartened, replied. "Please Mary, hurry up and put him out of his misery. This emotional rollercoaster ride is killing me."

"Voyager Bogg, I have a present for you." Mary said as she handed him the box.

"What's this?" Bogg asked curiously.

"Go ahead…Open it." Mary prodded.

Bogg, whose hands were now shaking from the apparent joke being played on him, took the lid off the box. Inside, a shiny new omni cast his reflection back at him.

"What? It's an omni, and not any old omni, it's a 3-16-50 like the one Drake has." Bogg said with joy beaming from his face.

"Yes Bogg, I'm sorry for the little joke we played on you. Susan told me about Jeff and that you needed something to cheer you up until you could find him. I've known all along that you have wanted a state of the art omni. I just couldn't find a way to get you back here to give it to you. So when Susan and Cole approached me earlier, I figured the time had come for you to have it."

Bogg put his arms around Susan and Cole and hugged them. "Thank you… Thank you both…You don't know what this means to me."

"You're quite welcome, Phineas." Susan replied graciously.

Cole extended his arm and shook Bogg's hand. "Congratulations, Bogg, It's an Omni." He said as he chuckled.

Bogg looked back and Mary and put his arms around her. "You had me worried there for a moment. But, thank you…thank you very much."

"That's what we're here for Voyager Bogg and don't you dare forget it." Mary said with a smile.

"Ok, now that the joke's on me. What about this tracer upgrade?" He asked.

"Bogg your omni's tracer function has been enhanced to track the movement of the ACS100 through time." Mary said as she opened the lid of Bogg's new omni. "Let me explain how to use it."

"If you are trying to locate, shall we say a lost omni, you just press the trace button once. The omni's tracking feature will scan the area and lock on to the first omni it finds. Instantly you will be taken to the coordinates where that omni is located."

"If you want to track a specific omni, you enter the code of the omni you want to track by turning this knob until the number appears in the little window. Once you have selected the proper code, you press the trace button twice." Mary explained.

"Ok, that's how you track the current omnis out in the field. How do we track the ACS100?" Bogg asked.

"Using this same knob, turn the dial until you see three zeros in the little window. Once you've done this, just press the trace button twice and away you go."

"Seems simple enough." Bogg said wryly.

Mary turned around and held out her hand as JT placed Cole and Susan's omnis in her hands.

Cole, Susan, here are your omnis. They have been upgraded also.

"Well, guys, are we ready to go round up the bad guys?" Bogg asked.

"I don't know about you two, but I'm ready for some excitement!" Cole exclaimed.

"And you know I'm ready… I can't wait to wrap my arms around Jeffrey. And to sink my claws into Drake, that dirty, rotten scoundrel." Susan spewed.

"Wait, before you go. I have something else for you." Mary said as she reached over and picked up another box from the table and handed it to Bogg.

"What's this?" Bogg asked as he opened the lid.

"You will need these once you have found the criminals. You have seen these before, they are pre-programmed omnis. They are set for direct transport to a holding cell at the Voyager Police Headquarters. They are ready and waiting for you to fill up that cell. All you have to do is place the omni on the person in question, press the button and two seconds later, he's in custody. Neat, huh?"

"Yea, these will come in handy." Bogg said as he placed a few in his pocket and gave the remainder to Susan and Cole.

"Are we ready?" Bogg asked.

"Yes, let's get a move on." Cole agreed.

Cole and Susan stood on opposite sides of Bogg and then reached and held on to his arm.

"Good luck to the three of you." Mary said as she took a step backward.

"Bogg set his omni, pressed the button and the three vanished.


	18. Hard Times at the Big House

****

_VOYAGERS!_ - The Voyager Chronicles  
THE CRIME OF ALL TIME - BOOK 3  
(Sequel to Tastes of Freedom)  
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
October 2007 (Revised 05/2009)  
Previous disclaimers apply

Chapter 17 – HARD TIMES AT THE BIG HOUSE

The once empty cells of Alcatraz were, after many years of being vacant, rapidly becoming occupied as Max continued his quest. With one cell block already filled to capacity, Doc and Ian began filling up a second one. As they returned from locking up their last prisoner, Max arrived with his latest victim held fast in his grip. Doc and Ian ran swiftly over to greet him and gawk at his latest catch.

"Well, well, well!" Doc said sarcastically. "Look who we have here. If it isn't ol' Garth himself or should I say professor?"

Garth struggled to get free of his captors, but Max's hold on him was just too strong. "It's Chancellor Garth to you. Why have you brought me here?" He demanded.

"O-K Chancellor Garth." Doc said mockingly. "I would have thought you'd have figured it out by now, especially with the help of all those Voyagers you have recalled."

"How am I supposed to know what heinous plans, thugs like you have conjured up?" Garth replied.

"Max, Ian, did you hear that? He called us a bunch of 'thugs'" Doc said spitefully.

"Yea, we heard. " Ian responded.

"You still haven't answered my question. Why have you brought me here?" Garth asked again, this time with a more forceful tone.

Doc grabbed the Chancellor by the collar. "I don't have to explain anything to you. Besides that, you are in no position to make demands."

Chancellor Garth made one more attempt to find out about their plans. "Why have you kidnapped all these Voyagers?"

Doc again began to mock him. "Why have you kidnapped all these Voyagers? Let me put your mind at ease…Garth… It's a takeover! And a hostile one at that. We're tired of all of you corrupt people running our government."

Garth smiled and chuckled a bit. "You call us corrupt. What you are doing is treasonous. Drake has brainwashed you and has led you all down a path of destruction. Whatever he has promised you, rest assured, he won't come through. He is only out for himself."

"Drake will never betray us…He's on our side!" Max yelled.

"Yea, Drake's on our side." Ian affirmed in a tone a few decibels lower than Max.

"Well, just wait and see. There have been others in the past who have associated themselves with the evil Drake. He used them just as he will do to you and then he will disappear."

"I've heard quite enough!" Ian said staunchly. "Doc, take the Chancellor and put him in the cell with that kid."

"C'mon!" Doc said to his prisoner as he forcibly escorted him to his new home. As Garth walked down the dark hallway, he continued to try to instill some sense into his captors. "I've got news for you all, your plan won't succeed. You are being hunted down as we speak."

"Yea, Yea! We know!" Max replied sarcastically. Woooo, I'm scared, really scared. "They're coming to take us away…oh my! Am I ever scared."

"Ian, I guess I better be on my way. Oh, one more thing, before I go…"

"What's that Max?"

"Tell Doc to clear out six more cells. We'll be holding an unscheduled meeting of the Council of Six here shortly." He said with a chuckle.

"Oh really? What's on today's agenda?" Ian asked with a humorous note.

Max laughed. "We'll be discussing early retirement planning." He said before he vanished into thin air.

Minutes later, Doc reached the cell where Jeff was now housed. As he stuck the key in the cell door and unlocked it, Jeff, who was lying on a cot, slowly raised his head to observe what was happening.

"I brought you a new friend." Doc said as he opened the door and shoved Chancellor Garth to the floor inside. "Hope you like old folk, 'cause you're going to be together for quite a long time."

Doc slammed the door, locked it and made his way back to the holding area.

Jeff stood up gingerly and slowly limped over and kneeled beside Chancellor Garth on the floor.

"Chancellor Garth, sir. Are you alright?" Jeff asked.

"Yes, I'm ok. Nothing's broken. I've just been roughed up a bit." Garth reassured, as he pulled himself up off the floor and sat down on the cot. Jeff closely followed him and sat next to him.

"Young Jeffrey. I thought it was you." He said, happy to see him again.

Jeff sat with his head down as he responded.

"Yea, it's me!"

"I guess the real question is, are you ok?" Garth asked.

Jeff, tired and extremely weak from his ordeal with Doc, slowly raised his head and responded.

"I'm ok…I guess." Jeff replied in a weakened state.

It was now apparent to the Chancellor his youngest Voyager was not faring as well as he had let on. Casting an eye over him, he noticed that young Jeffrey had been severely roughed up. He had a fairly large cut on his forehead which was oozing blood down the side of his neck. His face was bruised in several places and his left eye was swollen with a dark circle around it. In addition, his apparent limp was due in part to a sprained and swollen ankle.

"My heavens! Who did this to you, Jeff?" Garth asked.

"Well, I tried to get free of that, that oaf Doc, but it was a futile attempt. He was just too big for me." Jeff replied.

Garth got up from the cot and kneeled on the floor in front of Jeff. "Here my son, you lie back and let me take a look at that cut on your forehead."

Once Jeff was lying down, Garth took a handkerchief from his pocket, tore it in half and folded one piece several times.

"What I need now is some water to clean your wound." Garth said.

"Sir, there's some water in that bowl over there on the floor." Jeff said softly.

Garth crawled over and wet the handkerchief in the bowl, then returned to Jeff's side and began to clean his wound.

"Owww!" Jeff exclaimed as he attempted to sit up. Garth put his arms on Jeff's shoulders and eased him back down.

"I know it's painful, Jeff…and I'm sorry, but we've got to do something about this wound before you bleed to death." Garth said with concern.

"It's ok…" Jeff reassured. "Really!"

Garth finished cleaning the dirt out of the wound. He folded the other piece of cloth, placed it over the wound and began to apply pressure in an attempt to staunch the bleeding.

"What are you doing, sir?" Jeff asked.

"I'm trying to stop the bleeding. Now you remain quiet and conserve your strength."

As Garth sat there, continuing to apply pressure to Jeff's open wound, he couldn't help but notice the young lad was trying to fall asleep. He knew with all of Jeff's injuries this was the last thing he needed to do right now.

"Hey, Jeffrey! Don't you fall asleep on me!" Garth yelled.

Jeff yawned, his eyelids now too heavy to hold open. "Fall asleep?" Jeff said wearily. "How can anyone sleep in here?"

"Son, you've got to hold on. Bogg is looking for us as we speak. Rest assured, he will find us and rescue us from these thugs." He reassured.

"Bogg! Bogg knows where we are?"

"Jeff, he won't give up until he finds you son. It's killing him not knowing where you are. Let me tell you a little secret."

"What's that?"

"You may not know it, but, you are the best thing that ever happened to Voyager Bogg. Before you came along, he was a lonely man with nothing but his work to look forward to. When you came into his life, you gave him something to live for. He loves you dearly, son, you're all he's got and he's not going to let anyone take you away from him."

"I miss Bogg." Jeff said.

"I know you do son." Garth said in a father-like tone. "Now you must be quiet and conserve your strength."

Chancellor Garth continued in his role as Florence Nightingale in an attempt to patch up his young friend. After about 30 minutes, he lifted the cloth from Jeff's forehead to find his bleeding had been successfully stopped.

"There, now…that's much better." Garth said as he examined the wound.

"Has the bleeding stopped?" Jeff asked.

"Yes, it's stopped. Now, let's see what we can do about that ankle of yours."

Garth took off his coat and tore a piece of cloth from it. He walked over and soaked the rag in the bowl of water on the floor, fanned it in the air slightly and returned to Jeff's side.

"Jeffrey, I need to take off your shoe and sock so that I can apply this compress to your ankle."

Jeff started to sit up in an attempt to do it himself, but he was again overcome by his weakness.

"No…No! Jeffrey. You lie still. I can manage." Garth said as he began to unlace the boy's shoe.

Once untied, he slowly inched it from his foot as Jeff began to moan in pain.

"I'm sorry Jeffrey." Garth said.

"That's ok. I'm fine now."

"One more item to go. Brace yourself, this is going to hurt."

Slowly he rolled the sock down Jeff's swollen ankle, around his heel and finally off his foot. Jeff moaned somewhat, but, the pain was not as bad as he had expected.

"There… it's done. Now I need to put this cold compress over it. After a time, this should help with the swelling."

"Son, do you know where we are?" He asked.

"Yes sir. I heard them talking. We are on Earth at Alcatraz prison."

"Alcatraz!" Garth exclaimed in a state of disbelief. "Why did they choose this place?"

"Probably because it was at one time virtually escape-proof. What better place to house all these Voyagers." Jeff explained.

Suddenly in the background, the sound of footsteps could be heard rapidly approaching their cell.

"Dinnertime!" Ian shouted as he pushed a small cart up to the door.

"Great! I'm starved." Jeff replied.

"Hear you go, catch!" Ian said as he tossed a small chunk of bread to the young boy.

"And you old man. Here, catch!"

Ian reached under the cart and pulled out a small bowl, filled it with water from a large pitcher then slid it underneath the cell door.

"This is it? Bread and water? You've got to be kidding, right?" Jeff asked, in disbelief. "They only do this in the movies."

"Yep! That's it. So shut up and enjoy!" Ian quipped as made an evil sort of laugh and proceeded to feed the next victim.

"Son, we better eat it. It may be all we get. Besides, we have to keep up our strength." Garth urged.

"I guess you're right." Jeff agreed as he took a bite and choked it down with some water.


	19. Slipping Up on the Enemy

****

_VOYAGERS!_ - The Voyager Chronicles  
THE CRIME OF ALL TIME - BOOK 3  
(Sequel to Tastes of Freedom)  
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
October 2007 (Revised 05/2009)  
Previous disclaimers apply

Chapter 18 – SLIPPING UP ON THE ENEMY

After leaving Mary in R & D, Bogg, Susan and Cole, while tracking the ACS100, landed only a short distance away. Bogg's new omni with the tracking upgrade, was working perfectly and had dropped them outside the chambers of the Council of Six.

"Where are we?" Cole asked as he surveyed the area.

"We are still at Voyager Headquarters." Susan replied. "We're in the executive building, just outside the Council chambers."

"The Council!" Bogg exclaimed. "So I guess I was right after all. Drake is so predictable. I knew he wouldn't go after the Prime Minister until he had captured the Council."

"Good piece of investigative reasoning." Cole replied.

"Thank you."

"C'mon, let's see what we can find, here." Bogg said as he motioned for them to follow him.

Upon reaching the door to the Council Chambers, Bogg stopped, slowly turned the knob and cracked it open a bit. As he peeked inside, he saw no one in the room.

"There's no one around." He said before easing the door shut.

"So what's going on?" Susan asked. "The ACS100 must be here, because the omni brought us to this location."

"I don't know, but keep your eye out for anything suspicious." Bogg warned.

In the distance, the sound of voices could now be heard.

"Quick! Someone's coming… Hide!" Bogg whispered.

The three scanned the area for a place to hide. Noticing a small alcove a few steps away, they quickly ran over and hid inside.

As the group continued to make their way ever closer to the three Voyagers, the sounds of the voices intensified to the point where their conversations could be heard clearly.

"Shhh! Listen!" Cole urged.

"What?" Susan asked.

"It's the Council… Can't you tell."

"Yea, it's the Council alright. Just listen to all that rhetoric." Bogg said as he peeked around the corner to get a look. "It's enough to put you to sleep."

The Council made their way to the door of their chambers, opened it and went inside.

Sensing the coast was now clear; the three Voyagers came out of hiding and walked back to the Chamber door. All of a sudden, a loud yell came from within.

"I think that's our cue." Bogg whispered. "Susan, is there another way into these chambers?"

"Yes, there's a service entrance just down the hallway."

"Why don't you guys go in through this door and keep the thug occupied, while I surprise him from behind."

"Good idea, Bogg!" Cole replied.

"Guys, it's now or never. Let's go!"

Cole and Susan opened the Chamber door and cautiously made their way inside. Once in the room, they couldn't help but notice one of the members of the Council was now being restrained by some invisible force.

"Who are you and why have you restrained this gentleman?" Cole demanded as he raised his arm and pointed to the invisible assailant.

"None of your business. The intruder replied. "Now go away, this doesn't concern you!"

"It concerns us when kidnapping is involved and you are trying to kidnap one of the Council." Susan said staunchly. "Why is that? What do you think you will accomplish by doing this?"

"You, my nosey little lady, ask too many questions." The intruder replied.

"It's a valid question, so why not answer it." Susan prodded.

At that point, Bogg had entered through the service entrance and had taken up a position behind the intruder, ready to capture him. Susan noticed her partner as he signaled to them, he was ready.

"C'mon…It's a valid question…What are you going to do with him?" Susan demanded.

"We are calling a special meeting of the Council, to discuss their upcoming retirement plans."

At that moment, in an all out effort to subdue the intruder, Bogg came running from behind him. As he approached, he took a flying leap into the air, knocked the Council member aside and tacked the now invisible intruder to the floor. The force of the impact dislodged the ACS100 from the intruder's grasp and it flew across the room, landing in front of Cole.

After struggling for a few moments with Max, Bogg finally restrained the criminal. Cole ran over and lent a hand to his partner. To be safe, the two forced their prisoner into one of the chairs and bound his hands and feet with cording from a nearby lamp.

"Now, sir. I believe you have us at a disadvantage. Who are you?" Cole asked.

"The name's Max."

"Where are you holding all those prisoners?" Susan asked.

"I don't have to tell you anything." Max said uncooperatively.

"You may not divulge your secrets willingly, but the interrogators at Voyager Police Headquarters have ways of making you talk." Bogg warned.

"If you do anything to harm me, you'll never find that kid of yours again." Max threatened.

Max's threat had stuck the wrong chord with Bogg. Bogg walked over, grabbed Max by the collar and pulled him with one hand within an inch of his face.

"Now listen up, 'cause I'm only gonna say this once you little toad!" Bogg yelled in a state of fury. "No one, I MEAN NO ONE better lay one finger on my kid. If anyone in your little group of ruffians harms even one single hair on his head, you have not seen the likes of what I will do to you."

"So, what are you going to do, huh?" Max taunted.

Bogg looked back at Susan and Cole, sporting a smile and a look of astonishment on his face.

"Can you believe this?" Bogg said as he nodded his head and chuckled a bit. "I thought I expressed myself quite clearly. Was I that hard to understand?"

Susan and Cole looked at one another, smiled and shrugged their shoulders. Cole, still shocked and shaken up from hearing Bogg's threats to Max, spoke up.

"Uh…ummm…Nnnnnnoooooo" Cole replied, stumbling on his words. "No, sir, we understood every last word you said."

Bogg turned his attention back to his captive. "I thought so." He said as he tightened his grip on Max. "Obviously, you don't know much about me, otherwise you wouldn't be toying with me now."

"Nope… Your words don't scare me." Max replied defiantly. "You're just another one of those lilly-livered Voyagers."

Bogg rolled his eyes and slammed Max back into the chair with such force that his prisoner almost burst through the wall into the other room. He got in Max's face and put his finger to his chest.

"Well, let me tell you. Before I became a voyager, I was a pirate on the open seas. In all of my experiences with capturing other ships and pillaging villages for their booty, I have dealt with many men, who were much stronger than you. Do you know what a pirate does to those he doesn't like?"

Susan and Cole stood and watched Bogg in apparent disbelief, as he was now raving like a madman in an attempt to persuade his prisoner to cooperate.

By this time, Max was now sweating from Bogg's apparent intimidation and lack of control.

"No, what?" Max asked.

"I'll tell you. Have you ever seen someone whipped and keel-hauled?"

"No, I haven't"

"Well let me tell you, it's not an easy way to die, nor is it pretty either. First, we will tie you to the mast and give you a hundred lashes. Once that's done, the real torture will begin. Next, each of your fingers will be cut off, one by one. Then, your toes will go, one by one. Once that's done, your tongue comes next. After that, you will be strapped to the hull of the ship and left there for several days to tread water and to give the sharks something to nibble at. Once you have reached the point where you are almost dead, your head will be cut off and hung from the mast of the ship." Bogg said with an evil, malevolent tone.

"This my dear fellow, is only a taste of what I personally will do to you and your accomplices do you do anything, I MEAN ANYTHING to harm my kid, YOU UNDERSTAND!"

Max's eyes were now wide open as Bogg had succeeded in painting a vivid picture of the harm he would inflict upon him, if Jeff was hurt in any way.

"Now, since we obviously understand each other…Once again, where are you holding Jeffrey and all those prisoners?"

"Ok.. OK… I'll tell you, just spare me the torture." Max yelled, distraught with fear.

"Tell us, Max! We're waiting!" Bogg yelled, still sporting a sinister tone in his voice.

"They are at Alcatraz Island." Max shouted.

"What is the date?" Cole asked.

"January 1st 2006." Max exclaimed as he passed out from the terror of his ordeal.

"Susan, do you have the ACS100?" Bogg asked.

"Yes, I have it."

"Good, all we need to do now is put an omni on him and send him to the holding cell and then we can be on our way."

"I'll do the honors, if you don't mind?" Cole said excitedly.

"Sure, be my guest." Bogg replied.

Cole pulled a preset omni from his pocket and placed it on Max. Two seconds after pressing the button, he vanished.

"We're sorry for the intrusion, Council members. Your troubles are over. You are safe now." Bogg reassured.

"Thank you all. This could have been a disaster if you three hadn't shown up. Thanks again." One of the council members replied.

"You are quite welcome." Susan said graciously.

Bogg turned to his two colleagues. "We must be going. We have to find our imprisoned Voyagers and free them."

As they left the Council chambers, Cole reached up and grabbed Bogg by the shoulder to stop him. Bogg turned and faced the young Voyager, who was looking at him with a peculiar look.

"Hey Bogg! One question before we leave."

"Ok. I can't promise I'll have the answer though." Bogg said with a smile.

"Were you really a pirate before you became a Voyager or was all that back there just an elaborate act?" Cole asked innocently.

"You really want to know?" Bogg teased.

"Yes, I really do want to know!" Cole exclaimed.

Susan walked over and stood beside the two. She looked at Bogg, grinned and then shook her head. "Go ahead, Bogg! Answer the question!"

"Cole, as much as I hate to shatter the good-guy image you have of me, the answer is yes." He confessed. "I was a pirate for many years prior to becoming a Voyager." After he finished his grand declaration, he turned and continued to walk down the hallway, leaving Susan and Cole to ponder his answer.

Cole, even more perplexed than before, gave Susan a curious, yet unnerving look as a shiver ran down his spine.

"I would have never guessed." Cole stated. "I really don't know whether to be amused by his answer or frightened out of my wits."

Susan laughed. "Don't worry. Bogg's just an old softie. He couldn't hurt a fly. C'mon, he's getting away from us."

As he continued to slowly walk down the hallway, Bogg was still in close enough proximity to hear Susan and Cole's conversation. With that in mind, he decided to really play up his pirate image by doing a little acting of his own. As he heard their footsteps rapidly approaching, he began to limp like he had a wooden leg and then yelled out in a drunken rogue sounding pirate voice.

"Well, shiver me timbers! Aye! Now where'd me bloody parrot go!"


	20. The Trip to the Big House

****

_VOYAGERS!_ - The Voyager Chronicles  
THE CRIME OF ALL TIME - BOOK 3  
(Sequel to Tastes of Freedom)  
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
October 2007 (Revised 05/2009)  
Previous disclaimers apply

Chapter 19 – THE TRIP TO THE BIG HOUSE

Bogg, Susan and Cole finally arrived at Alcatraz. In order not to bring attention to their arrival, they chose to land in a reception area just outside the cell block were Doc and Ian were now standing.

"Ok, we're here. What's the plan?" Susan asked.

"Yea, how are we going to overpower these two renegades?" Cole asked.

"Uhh…umm…Well, it's simple, really." Bogg said as he stumbled on his words.

"All right, if it's so simple, then explain it to us." Susan whispered.

"Guys, we have the advantage of surprise here. We have the ACS100 and these two don't know that. Here's what we need to do. While Susan and I distract Doc and Ian, Cole, you'll take the ACS100, cloak yourself and sneak up behind them. At that point you'll place an omni on each of them… Two seconds later, they're in custody. Simple, but effective."

"Wow, Bogg, what a plan." Susan responded, impressed by his quick thinking.

"It's nothing that either one of you couldn't have thought of yourself." Bogg said humbly.

"Oh and one other thing, Cole."

"What's that Bogg?"

"When you sneak up behind them be sure and get the keys. We'll need them to free all the prisoners."

"Oh yea, right! Got it!" He acknowledged.

"Are we ready?" Bogg asked.

"Yes!" Susan said forcefully. "Let's get these thugs."

"I'm ready." Cole said as he pulled the ACS100 from his pocket, opened the lid and activated the cloaking control. Instantly, he vanished from their sight.

"Cole? Are you still there?" Susan asked as she scanned the area.

"Yep, I'm here." Cole said as he walked over and grabbed Susan's hand.

Susan jumped with fright. "Oh Cole, stop it. You almost scared me to death."

"I'm sorry, Susan." Cole said.

"Ok, c'mon Susan, let's get this show on the road." Bogg urged as he opened the door and the two walked into the room with Doc and Ian.

After hearing the door open, Doc and Ian looked back and saw the two standing just inside the door behind them.

"Well who do we have here?" Doc asked, haughtily. "Wait a minute, I know. It's that no good Bogg and his goody two-shoes girlfriend Susan.

"Wrong… on both counts." Bogg quipped.

"What do you mean? I know exactly who you are." Ian argued.

"Unfortunately for you, we are your worst nightmare. We've come to take you both into custody." Susan explained smoothly.

"What? You two…" Doc replied as he started to laugh. "You two are going to arrest the two of us…Not likely."

"Watch and see." Bogg teased.

Doc looked at Ian. "They are not armed, what can they do to us? Let's get um, Ian!" He yelled as they slowly crept toward the two.

"Cole, do it now!" Bogg yelled.

"Cole ran up behind the two criminals, slapped an omni on them and pressed the button. A few seconds later, Ian and Doc vanished.

"Well, that looks like the end of that." Bogg said as he brushed the dirt from his hands and turned to walk down the hallway. "Let's go and free the captives."

Out of the shadows, Drake appeared and grabbed Susan from behind. "Not so fast Voyager Bogg. You have interfered with my plans for the very last time."

"Let her go Drake, she's no use to you. It's me you want, so come and get me." Bogg said as he invited the rogue to take him instead.

"No, you make one false move and your girlfriend's history. Literally. I will take her so far back in time you or no one else will be able to find her." Drake threatened.

"You have something in your possession that belongs to me." Drake said.

"What's that?" Bogg said innocently.

"Don't give me that 'I don't know what you are talking about, crap". You have the ACS100, now give it to me!" He demanded.

"Drake, I assure you, I don't have it. See, I'll show you" Bogg replied as he started turning out his pockets.

"Then where is it? I'm warning you Bogg, no tricks or it's bye-bye for your partner here." Drake said.

"I assure you, I have no tricks up my sleeve." Bogg assured his rival. "Now Cole, do it now." He mumbled.

"What was that?" Drake asked.

Suddenly, Cole stepped up behind Drake. He hit Drake on the back of the neck with a violent karate chop. As Drake released his grip on Susan, Cole pushed her out of harm's way. Now somewhat woozy from Cole's strike, Drake fell to the floor. Noticing his silver omni now in plain view, the cloaked Voyager grabbed it from Drake's hand and replaced it with one of his own. Confused and still quite dazed, Drake opened the lid, turned the dial and pressed the button. A few seconds later, Drake was gone.

Bogg ran over to Susan to see if she was ok. He put his arm around her and picked her up off the floor.

"Susan, are you ok?" He asked.

"Yea, I'm fine. That was close."

"Way too close for comfort." He replied.

Cole turned off the cloaking function and immediately appeared in front of them.

"Good job, Cole. What did you do to knock Drake off his feet?" Bogg asked.

"You know Bogg, you are not the only one with a secret past." Cole said, mysteriously.

"What, that thing about being a pirate… Everyone knows that." Bogg teased.

"Well, you may not know this, but, I have a black belt in Karate. Before I became a Voyager, I was a Karate instructor." Cole explained.

"Wow… I've always wanted to try my hand at that." Bogg said, now impressed by his colleagues abilities. "Can you teach me a few lessons?"

"Anytime, Bogg! Anytime!" Cole replied.

"Boys, we are not finished here yet, what about the captives?" Susan asked.

After hearing this, Bogg had an epiphany. "Oh yea, the prisoners…And Jeffrey. C'mon, let's go."

Bogg, Susan and Cole walked through the cell blocks and unlocked the doors, freeing all of the captured Voyagers. As each was set free, they came out, hugged and thanked the three for their efforts. Now over three quarters of the way through the prison, they still had not found the cell with Jeff and Garth inside.

"Susan, I'm worried." Bogg stated with a note of concern for his partner. "I would have thought by now we would have found Jeff and Chancellor Garth."

"Bogg, don't give up too soon. We are not finished yet. There's still quite a few cells left to unlock." She reassured.

As they reached the last cell that was occupied, Bogg was now in a state of panic. They had yet to find Jeff or Garth.

Susan walked up to the cell door and peeked inside. There, in the midst of the room, was Jeff and Garth, who were fast asleep. Susan looked back at Bogg, now tense as a caged lion and motioned for him to be quiet and come over.

"Phineas…Come and look." Susan whispered.

Bogg quietly walked over and looked inside.

"It's Jeffrey! We found him, he's here!" Bogg exclaimed.

Susan quickly unlocked the door and Bogg, extremely happy and relieved to see his young partner ran inside. He picked the young Voyager up and held him tightly in his arms.

"Bogg!" Jeff said with a weak voice.

"Yea kid, it's me. I'm here and I've got you" Bogg said as he held his partner and comforted him.

Susan and Cole walked over and helped Chancellor Garth to his feet.

"It's good to see you again, sir." Susan said.

"Are you ok, sir?" Cole asked.

"Yes, I'll be fine. I'm just happy to see those two reunited again." Garth said now relieved by the sight of Bogg and Jeff's reunion.

As Bogg carried his partner outside into the light, he quickly noticed the cut on his forehead and the bruises on his face and arms. He felt sad that Jeff had been abused in this manner, but, relieved that he was still alive and no other harm had come to him.

"Jeff, I'm so sorry this happened to you." Bogg said regretfully. "I promised I'd never let anyone harm you. Kid, I feel I've let you down."

"Bogg…" Jeff replied, his voice trembling and weak. "It's o----k…real----ly. It---'s…not …your…fau----lt." He looked up at Bogg, who now had tears in his eyes and smiled.

"C'mon, kid, let's go home." Bogg said as he walked down the hallway.


	21. The Ceremony

****

_VOYAGERS!_ - The Voyager Chronicles  
THE CRIME OF ALL TIME - BOOK 3  
(Sequel to Tastes of Freedom)  
By DA Daugherty (VoyagersFan)  
October 2007 (Revised 05/2009)  
Previous disclaimers apply

Chapter 20 – THE CEREMONY

It was the beginning of a beautiful day on Planet Voyager. The skies were clear and there was a warm breeze creeping across the area. It was a good day for basking in the sun or sitting in the shade of a large tree, sipping on an ice cold fruit smoothie or some other refreshing concoction.

In light of the crimes which Drake and his cohorts had perpetrated upon the whole of the planet, the Prime Minister and the Council of Six had used their vast executive powers to declare this day an official day of rest and celebration. In keeping with their wishes, Chancellor Garth and Director Blake had planned a celebration for their employees and their families like no other in the history in the history of the planet. Not too far from Voyager Headquarters, at the famed Voyager Memorial Park, this grand celebration was being staged and was set to begin at 10:00 am. In addition to a huge barbecue and picnic being thrown for the group, the festivities of the day would also include many activities for the children as well as a baseball tournament with teams of Voyager field personnel competing against their colleagues from VHQ.

-------------

Inside Voyager Medical, in a third floor room with a great view, Jeff lay fast asleep in his warm hospital bed. The young Voyager, having been roughed up from his bout with Doc, had been brought to the facility in an almost half-unconscious state after end of his ordeal at Alcatraz prison. The doctor in charge of his case, Dr. Powers, a seasoned young practitioner experienced in treating patients from the planet Earth, upon initial examination had concluded the kid might have suffered a slight concussion from his battle. Not wanting to take any chances, he admitted Jeff to the facility for overnight observation and additional treatment.

Bogg had remained at the bedside of his partner throughout the night. Greatly concerned for his health and well-being, he had barely closed his eyes even once during this time. Inside of him, extreme feelings of remorse and guilt were raging as he attempted to come to grips with what had happened to his partner. As he held Jeff's hand in his own, hoping no serious harm had come to him; Dr. Powers came into the room.

"Good Morning." He said as he walked over and put his hand on Bogg's shoulder. "How is he doing this morning?"

Bogg raised his head and responded. "He seems to be ok, but he hasn't awakened yet."

"Mr. Bogg, that's to be expected in light of what the little guy has went through." The Doctor reassured. "He's been battered, bruised, and beaten. This is his body's way of healing itself."

"How so, Doc?" Bogg asked curiously.

"Let me explain." Powers said as he pulled up a chair beside the Voyager.

"Your body is like a damaged electrical grid after a storm. In order for the electrical guys to repair the damaged areas, some parts of it must be shut down. It's the same with your body. When it's hurt or damaged, the brain shuts down all unnecessary activity and forces the body to go into repair mode, thus the need for sleep or unconsciousness."

"Wow, I never really thought of it that way." Bogg acknowledged.

"Mr. Bogg, the reason why I'm here is to give you the results of Jeff's x-rays. I am happy to report that Jeff will be just fine. There is no head trauma to report nor does he have any signs of a concussion. "

"That's great Doc!" Bogg exclaimed with an extreme look of gratitude.

"That's not all." Powers continued. "There's no reason for the little guy to stay here any longer. He can leave as soon as he wakes up."

"Are you sure?" Bogg asked, still rather concerned with his partner's health.

"Yes, I'm sure. Mind you, he will have to take it easy for the next several days as his body continues to heal itself. Also, he will limp for a while until his ankle sorts itself out. But other than that, he'll be just fine. "

Dr. Powers walked over to the bed, put his stethoscope on Jeff's chest and listened to his heart. After a few moments, he removed the device from his ears and turned back to Bogg.

"He's quite a lucky kid."

"He sure is…" Bogg said as he observed his sleeping partner.

"One question, Mr. Bogg. Are you his father?" He asked.

"Well, yes and no. He's an orphan, I'm just his guardian." Bogg replied.

At that point, after hearing their conversation, Jeff woke up from his long sleep. He sat up in bed, reached over and put his arm around Bogg.

"No, sir. He's not just my guardian. He's the closest thing to a dad I've had since my parents were killed in an accident." Jeff boasted.

Overwhelmed by Jeff's statements, Bogg looked at his partner and said. "Thank you, Jeff. You don't know how much that means to me."

Dr. Powers looked at the two and smiled warmly. "You know, you two were made for each other. It would be very hard to tell that you were not father and son.

"You're not the first person to say that." Jeff said softly.

"Well, Jeff, what are you waiting for?" Powers said with some gusto. "Get up, get dressed and get out there and enjoy the festivities."

"What festivities?" Jeff asked.

"The Prime Minister has declared today a day of celebration. As I understand it, we have you, Bogg and two others to thank for it."

"Hey, it was nothing." Bogg said humbly.

"And you are too modest." Powers said with a nod. "Now get dressed. You two need to get out there and enjoy yourselves."

"What about my ankle?" Jeff asked.

Powers pointed to the young Voyager and smiled.

"You can walk on it, but take it slow and easy. There will be no marathon running for you for a while young man."

"I won't sir." Jeff acknowledged.

"Well, Bogg, Jeff, I must be going. I have several more patients to see. If you need me you know where to find me, ok?" Powers said as turned and exited the room.

"Thank you Doc." Bogg said as Powers closed the door behind him.

"Bogg, did you have to say that name?" Jeff quipped.

"What name, kiddo?"

"Doc." Jeff said sullenly. "I hope I never see that guy again."

"I'm sorry kid. I can assure you; you will never see him again. He's going away for a long, long time. Now, try to put all this out of your mind, ok?"

"Ok, Bogg."

At that moment, the door to Jeff's room suddenly opened.

"Who's that Bogg?" Jeff asked as he peered at the door.

"It's Chancellor Garth, kid!"

Garth walked through the door and made his way over to Jeff's bedside.

"How's my favorite Voyager duo today?" He asked.

"I'm fine." Bogg replied. "I really don't know about the kid here."

Jeff nodded at his partner's teasing and reassured the Chancellor.

"Chancellor, sir, I'm doing just fine. A little bit tired, but otherwise ok."

"I'm extremely grateful to hear that." Garth replied. "After finding you in the state you were in yesterday, I was extremely concerned for your health."

Without warning, a tall, blonde nurse came strutting into the room.

"Mr. Bogg?"

Bogg turned to face the young beauty and his eyes almost popped out of his head.

"Yes…I'm Bogg." He said in a state of shock.

"Mr. Bogg, I need you to come with me. There are some papers I need you to sign, before Jeff is released."

"Uh…umm…uh…sure…sure… I'd be happy to sign them." He said as he stood up and picked his chin up off the floor.

"Kid…uhh…Chancellor Garth,sir…I…I'll be right back."

The nurse turned and exited the room as Bogg followed closely in her footsteps.

Garth watched as Bogg left the room, he then turned to Jeff and asked, innocently.

"Is he always like that around women?"

"Yep…It happens every time." Jeff said as he nodded in disbelief.

Garth quickly sat down in Bogg's chair and started to whisper to the young Voyager.

"Jeff, I don't have much time… Bogg could be back any moment."

"What's wrong sir?" Jeff asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing's wrong. But we have planned a special awards ceremony for Bogg, Susan and Cole this evening."

"What kind of award, sir?" Jeff asked.

"Jeff." He whispered. "In light of Bogg, Susan and Cole's efforts to thwart Drake's plans to take over the planet, the Prime Minister and the Council of Six has decided to show their appreciation and gratitude for their efforts by awarding them the highest honor of the planet. The Golden Star."

"Wow, Chancellor Garth!" Jeff exclaimed in a whisper. "This is absolutely great."

"But that's not all, my dear young friend. The Prime Minister insisted that you make the presentation to your partner."

Jeff's eyes grew wide as his excitement was beginning to get the best of him."

"Al-right!!!" Jeff exclaimed.

Suddenly the door opened and Bogg walked slowly back into the room, rubbing his cheek and stretching his jaw.

"Bogg, are you ok?" Jeff asked.

"Yea…Kid…I…guess."

"Why are you rubbing your jaw?"

Bogg looked as his partner and attempted to respond as a bit of color came to his cheeks.

"Uhh…umm…"

"Ok, let me guess." Jeff said sarcastically. "Bogg sees nurse. Bogg follows nurse. Bogg falls for nurse. Bogg tries to kiss nurse. Nurse slaps Bogg. Bogg returns to his partner with a sore jaw and his tail between his legs. How's that for an explanation?"

"Kid, you…Oh alright…you win!" Bogg said as he conceded to his partner's explanation.

Chancellor Garth rose from his seat. As he made his way toward the door, he stopped for a moment to give the Voyager a piece of advice.

"Bogg." Garth prompted.

"Yes sir."

"May I be so bold as to make a suggestion?" Garth asked.

"Yes, sir. By all means."

"Mr. Bogg, in the future, I suggest you come up with a safer method of making first contact with the females. That is if you want to live a long, happy life."

Without saying another word, Garth turned and exited the room.

Jeff sat up in bed and laughed uncontrollably at his partner.

"What are YOU laughing about?" Bogg quipped.

"You of course." Jeff said comically. "The great Bogg strikes out once again."

"Smart kids give me such a pain." Bogg muttered to himself.

"C'mon kid, get you clothes on and let's get going."

Jeff stood up, grabbed his clothes and began to get dressed. Once he had his clothes on, Bogg reached over and helped him with his socks and shoes.

"Well, kid, looks like we're ready. Do you think you can walk?" Bogg asked.

"Yea I guess so." Jeff said with a bit of doubt.

"If you start having problems, let me know. I'll put you up on my shoulders and carry you around. Ok?"

"OK Bogg!"

The two slowly exited the room and made their way down the hallway to the elevator. Upon reaching the main floor, the two walked a short distance to the main entrance and exited the building. Once outside, there was a long black limousine waiting for them at the curb.

"Look Bogg, I wonder who that's for?" Jeff asked.

"I don't know, kid."

Before Bogg and Jeff could proceed further, the driver got out of the vehicle and walked over to him.

"Mr. Bogg?" The driver asked.

"Yes, I'm Bogg." Bogg acknowledged.

"Sir, I'm here at the request of the Council of Six to take you and your partner to the festivities. Once the festivities are over, I've been ordered to take you back to VHQ for an important meeting in the auditorium at 7:00 pm."

"Wow, I've never been treated like this before." Bogg said in disbelief. He looked down at his partner and with a note of excitement in his voice, began teasing him.

"Hey kid, you won't have to worry about walking to the festivities, looks like we have our own vehicle, compliments of the Council of Six. He's gonna take us to the festivities."

"This is great, Bogg!" Jeff exclaimed as he grinned at his partner.

"Well what are we waiting for, let's go kid!" Bogg said excitedly.

Bogg picked up his partner and ran toward the vehicle. The driver opened the door for the two and assisted Bogg as he helped Jeff to climb inside. Once Jeff was comfortably seated, Bogg sat down beside him and the driver quickly closed the door. Moments later, with the driver now behind the wheel, the vehicle slowly pulled away from the curb and sped off to its intended destination.

"Wow Bogg, I've never been in a limousine before." Jeff noted, his eyes now brightly lit up with excitement.

"What's a limousine?" Bogg asked, innocently.

"It's a big long vehicle, like this one, with comfortable seats, a bar and a television set. They are driven by chauffeurs and used to transport very important people to very important events." Jeff explained.

"So in other words, we are VIP's." Bogg asked.

"Yep, it looks that way." Jeff confirmed.

After what seemed like a very short drive, the limousine arrived at the entrance to Voyager Memorial Park. The driver pulled up to the curb and quickly stepped out to open the door for the two Voyagers.

"Mr. Bogg, Mr. Jones. We're here." The driver said as the two climbed out of the vehicle. "I hope you enjoy the picnic and the festivities. I'll meet you back here around 6:45 this evening."

"Thanks, sir." Bogg said.

As the driver got back behind the wheel and pulled away, the two Voyagers walked through the main gate and stopped for a moment to get their bearings.

"Where to, kiddo?" Bogg asked.

"Bogg, I don't know about you, but I'm famished. Look there's a sign that says 'Picnic'. It's pointing in that direction. Why don't we check it out?"

"Good idea, kid." Bogg exclaimed. "C'mon."

The two followed the signs pointing to the picnic area. Upon arrival, their tongues were now drooping over their lips as they surveyed the wonder of the bountiful buffet set before them. Upon grabbing an empty plate, the two commenced to partake of a little bit of everything. Once their plates were overfilled, the two walked over to an empty table and sat down. Like ravenous bears, the two scarfed down their fare with little or no regard for what was going on around them.

After a time, Bogg and Jeff had cleaned their plates. The two, now stuffed to the brim, sat back in their chairs and moaned in response to their gluttony.

"Whew, what a feast?" Bogg said woozily. "I think I'll go back for seconds."

"What? Seconds? You've got to be kidding?" Jeff said in disbelief. "Where are you going to put it?"

Bogg chuckled a bit as he responded to his partner.

"I'm just teasing, kid. There's no more room left for anything else."

"I'd say." Jeff affirmed. "I'm so full, if someone stuck a pin in me, I might just pop."

"Me too, kid. Me too!"

After their meal had settled, Bogg decided at Jeff's incessant prodding to play a game of baseball with the other Voyagers. Unable to play himself, Jeff still enjoyed the game as he watched his partner from the stands and cheered him on to victory.

Once the game was over, Bogg walked over to his partner and sat down beside him.

"Whew, I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted. I haven't played like this since our mission to help Babe Ruth."

"Bogg, it was a good game and you're a natural at it."

"Thanks kid. When that ankle of yours has healed, we'll come back and maybe the two of us can play on the same team."

"I'd like that Bogg." Jeff replied.

"C'mon, kid."

"Where are we going?" Jeff asked curiously.

"Just over there under that tree." He responded. "That looks like the ideal spot for a nap."

"Ok!" Jeff said.

The two walked over and sat down under a huge oak tree.

"Now this…is heaven." Bogg proclaimed as leaned back against the trunk and closed his eyes.

"Yea, Bogg this is great!" Jeff agreed.

Without warning, Bogg began to recite a somewhat modified verse from an old earth poem.

"I think that I shall never see… a thing as lovely as a tree." He said.

"You said it." Jeff acknowledged.

The two sat under the tree and napped for the remainder of the afternoon. As the time of their departure rapidly approached, Jeff woke up and realized it was time for the two to meet their driver at the main gate.

"Bogg!" He prompted. "Bogg, wake up. It's time to go."

"Wha…What? Why did you have to wake me, kid. I was having this dream that I was on an island full of beautiful women and they were feeding me pineapple and…"

"Bogg, it was just a dream. Besides, we've gotta go. The driver's probably already there waiting for us.

"Ok… Ok… let's go." Bogg quipped.

Bogg took off running toward the main entrance, momentarily forgetting his partner was unable to keep up with him. As he looked back and quickly realized his partner was no-where around, he turned and ran back to him.

"Thanks for running off and leaving me, Bogg." Jeff chided.

"I'm sorry, kid. I was in such a hurry, I just forgot. Here, I'll just carry you, ok?" Bogg said as he quickly grabbed his partner, threw him over his shoulder and took off running. Moments later, the two made it to the main entrance just as their limousine pulled up to the curb. The driver quickly got out and walked over to open the door for the two Voyagers.

"Guys, how was your day? I hope you had loads of fun and got a chance to relax a bit."

"Yes sir, we sure did." Jeff exclaimed.

"Well as I see it, the fun has only just begun." The driver said mysteriously. "You have a meeting to attend in 15 minutes."

After the two climbed inside, the driver closed the door, got back into the vehicle and sped off down the road. While they made their way back to VHQ, Jeff looked over at Bogg and asked rather innocently.

"Bogg, I wonder what's this meeting all about?"

"Jeff, I don't know, honestly, I really don't know." Bogg stated, somewhat unnerved by the thought.

Jeff turned his head and looked out the window as he tried to contain his excitement for his partner. Bogg had no idea what he was about to happen to him and Jeff was extremely excited about his part in this grand affair.

Quickly they arrived at the front entrance to VHQ. The driver stopped at the curb, got out and opened the door for the two.

"Well gentlemen, we're here. If you would, please report immediately to the auditorium." The driver asked politely.

Bogg and Jeff left the vehicle and walked in through the front entrance. Once inside, Chancellor Garth ran up and greeted them both.

"Bogg, Jeffrey! It's good to see you again. I hope you got a chance to enjoy the festivities of the day." He asked.

"We sure did, it was great!" Jeff replied.

Still trying to unravel the mystery around this unusual meeting that had been called, Bogg stood beside his partner, now quiet and somewhat distracted.

"What about you Bogg? You are being awfully quiet this evening." Garth prodded.

"Oh…Oh, yea, it was great. Loved the picnic and the baseball." Bogg replied after snapping back to reality.

"Good…Good…"

"Chancellor, what's this meeting all about?" Bogg asked.

"Well we just needed to wrap up some loose ends. That's all. I assure you, it won't take very long. I know you two have had a long week and need some time to rest."

"Yea, it's been a rough one. Right kid?" Bogg asked.

"Yea Bogg, right!" Jeff said as he turned and looked away.

"Bogg, do you mind if I borrow Jeff for a moment, I have something I need to show him before the meeting?" Garth asked.

Even more puzzled than before; Bogg was now feeling a bit uneasy, since Garth and Jeff were now acting rather strangely.

"Sure, I guess...uh...no problem."

"Why don't you go into the auditorium and we'll be there shortly." Garth recommended.

"Yea, sure." Bogg agreed as he walked toward the door. "Kid, I'll be inside if you need me."

"C'mon Jeffrey, we need to get to the stage quickly." Garth said as he picked up the young Voyager and ran quickly down the hall.

"Bogg, totally oblivious to the events which were about to unfold, opened the door and casually walked into the room. Once inside, he was stunned by the sight and sound of some 1200+ Voyagers who stood up and began to applaud.

"What?" He muttered to himself. "Smokin' bats-breath, what's going on here?

With the audience now focused on him, he looked around and began to see many who were mouthing the words, "Thank you Bogg." It was at this point, he realized this had all been planned for him. Overwhelmed by the audience's grand gesture, he reached up and wiped a tear from his eye.

Suddenly, the blue velvet curtains of the stage slowly opened. After a few moments, he was surprised to see the Prime Minister, the Council of Six, Chancellor Garth as well as Cole, Susan and Jeffrey sitting on the stage. Chancellor Garth rose from his chair, walked over and stood in front of the microphone.

"Fellow Voyagers, friends and co-workers…if you would, please be seated."

"Voyager Bogg, let me say first of all, you are in the right room." Garth said with a smile.

The audience began to laugh and again became quiet.

"Chancellor Garth…" Bogg yelled as he stood in the midst of the auditorium. "What's this all about?"

"Ladies and Gentlemen, even though he needs no introduction, I would like to introduce to you the man of the evening, Voyager Phineas Bogg."

The audience once again stood and applauded their hero.

"Voyager Bogg if you would, please join us on the stage." Garth asked over the noise of the crowd.

Bogg walked down to the front of the auditorium and climbed the steps to the stage. He strolled over and stood beside his mentor and former professor.

The audience became silent as Chancellor Garth continued.

"Voyager Bogg, we are all gathered here tonight to honor you and your team for your efforts in thwarting the rogue Drake's plans to take over the government. With him and the members of Paradox now in custody, we can all sleep soundly tonight, because of your efforts. Also, if it wasn't for you and your team, the majority of those here tonight would not be here.

The audience once again jumped to their feet and applauded.

Bogg mouthed the words, "Thank you" to the crowd as he bowed his head in appreciation.

After a few moments, those in attendance sat down and became quiet once again.

"Voyager Bogg, we are here tonight to bestow upon you and the members of your team, the highest honor our civilization has to offer. With that said, I would like to turn the floor over to the Prime Minister to make the presentations.

The Prime Minister rose from his seat and walked over and shook Bogg's hand. The audience cheered and then became silent.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Members of the Council of Six, Chancellor Garth, honorees, friends and colleagues. We are here this evening to present the highest honor ever to be given to a Voyager in the history of our civilization. The honor I speak of tonight is the revered Golden Star award. For those who are unfamiliar with this award, it is given to those who have exhibited extreme acts of courage, strength, bravery and dedication in service to their planet in a time of great turmoil or war."

"Tonight, three of your fellow comrades have been chosen to receive this highest of all honors. In a few moments, we will be presenting this award to Mr. Phineas Bogg, Mr. Stephen Cole, and Miss Susan for their outstanding efforts to quell a hostile takeover of our government by Paradox and their leader, the renegade Drake."

"Mr. Cole, Miss Susan, would you please come over and join your colleague Mr. Bogg?"

Susan and Cole rose from their seats, walked over and stood next to their partner.

"Presenting the award for Miss Susan tonight will be Chancellor Garth. Chancellor Garth, if you would do us the honor, please."

Garth picked up a small box from the table, crossed the stage and stood beside Susan.

"Susan, on behalf of those in attendance here tonight and on behalf of all those who call this planet their home, I would like to present to you this planet's highest honor, the Golden Star." Garth said as he pinned the medal to her lapel and congratulated her.

The audience cheered. Susan hugged Chancellor Garth before bowing to the audience in appreciation.

The Prime Minister continued. "Next, presenting the award for Mr. Steven Cole will be his Supervisor, Mission Specialist Miss Lindsey Connors. Miss Connors if you would, please join us on stage."

Connors rose from her seat in the third row, came down the aisle and climbed the steps to the stage. She picked up another box from the table, walked over and stood beside her employee.

The audience quieted down as she began to speak.

"Mr. Cole, on behalf of those in attendance here, the members of the Mission Control Department and those who call this planet their home, I would like to present to you at this time our planet's highest honor, the Golden Star."

The audience cheered as Miss Connors pinned the medal on Cole's lapel.

Cole hugged his supervisor and then bowed to the audience as he thanked them for their recognition.

After a few moments, the audience once again got quiet.

"Last, but not least, presenting the award for Mr. Phineas Bogg is his partner of many years, the youngest Voyager on this planet, Mr. Jeffrey Jones.

Jeff stood up, picked up the last box from the table, walked over and stood beside Bogg.

The crowd quieted down as the young Voyager began to speak.

"Mr. Bogg…" Jeff said, rather nervously.

Bogg looked at his partner, smiled and winked at him as he was now extremely proud of what he was about to do.

"Mr. Bogg, on behalf of those in attendance here, those who call this planet their home, as well as those like myself who were not born of this planet, I'd like to present to you this planet's highest honor, the Golden Star."

The audience jumped to their feet and applauded as Bogg knelt down so his partner could pin the medal on him. Jeff hands trembled as he removed the medal from its box and pinned it to his partner's vest. Bogg reached and put his arms around his partner and then looked out at the crowd as he smiled and humbly thanked them.

The audience quieted down somewhat. Bogg, being extremely proud of his partner at this point, started to rise, but hesitated. He looked briefly at the award pinned to his chest, then glanced at his partner and nodded his head. Without warning, Bogg decided to make a gesture of his own, so he removed the medal and placed it on his partner. With Jeff now taken totally by surprise by his act of kindness, Bogg, put the icing on the cake by picking him up and setting him atop his shoulders. He then pointed to the young kid and motioned for the audience to give him a round of applause.

Extremely pleased by Bogg's unselfish act, the audience jumped to their feet and applauded wildly. Once the crowd had quieted down, the Prime Minister once again spoke.

"Congratulations to our honorees this evening. This concludes the awards ceremony, good night and many blessings to you all.

As the crowd dispersed, Susan and Cole walked up to Bogg and the three congratulated each other on a job well done. Bogg then lifted his partner down from his shoulders and knelt down in front of him.

"Jeff, mere words cannot express how proud I am of you." He said, now highly charged with emotion. "You faced a virtual no-win situation yesterday and showed great courage in the face of danger. If that wasn't enough, you had the courage to stand in front of a crowd this size and present me with this honor. Kid, watching you pin that medal on me was a very moving and emotional moment for me. One I will never forget. Come here, Jeff." Bogg said as he held out his arms. Jeff walked over and Bogg put his arms around him. "I'm so very, very proud of you!"

"Thanks Bogg, you are as I have said many times before, the greatest!"

At that moment, two familiar faces approached them from the crowd. Bogg quickly jumped to his feet as they came over and stood beside him.

"Rosalyn! Mallory!" Bogg exclaimed, surprised to see them.

"I guess congratulations are in order." Mallory said as he shook the Voyagers' hand.

"Yea, I guess." Bogg replied, a hint of humility in his voice.

"Congratulations, Bogg on a job well done." Rosalyn said as she hugged the Voyager.

"Thank you, you are both too kind." Bogg said. "I guess the real question is…how are the two of you?"

"Well, Mr. Bogg, things are looking up for both of us." Rosalyn replied, with a very large smile on her face.

"Yes, things ARE looking up…thanks to you Bogg." Mallory acknowledged.

"Shawn went before the Voyager Tribunal earlier today. After hearing the extenuating circumstances of his situation, they decided to drop all charges against him in lieu of him performing 1000 hours of public service." Rosalyn explained.

"That's terrific, Mallory! So, what's next?" Bogg asked.

"I have a couple of things in mind. First, I've decided to enroll at Voyager Academy. I've been thinking, why should you guys have all the fun with the omnis? After years as a computer technician, I think it's time for a change of scenery."

"Wow, Voyager Mallory. That has an interesting ring to it." Bogg teased.

"The second thing is, well, Roz and I are getting married." Mallory announced.

"You're getting married?" Bogg asked, somewhat stunned by the announcement.

"Yes, Mr. Bogg, Shawn proposed to me earlier today."

"Congratulations to you both!" Bogg said as he hugged Rosalyn and shook Mallory's hand. "You two will make a great couple."

"Thank you sir and it wouldn't have been possible, if it hadn't been for you and your efforts." Mallory said.

"When's the wedding?" Bogg asked.

"Well we haven't set a date yet, but I can tell you…soon…very soon." Mallory said with a smile.

"I hope you will be able to come?" Rosalyn asked.

"We wouldn't miss it…right Jeff?" Bogg said as he momentarily looked at his partner.

"Right! " Jeff replied.

"And when you graduate from Voyager Academy, maybe the three of us can work together on some mission or something." Bogg stated.

"I'd like that, Bogg. I promise, I'll look you up." Mallory said.

"We'll hold you to it."

"Well, guys, it's been a long day. Rosalyn and I must get back to the apartment and get some rest. You know, tomorrow's just around the corner."

"Goodnight to you both." Bogg said warmly

"Goodnight to you, too." Rosalyn said as she and Mallory walked off into the distance.

"You know, kid, speaking of another day, I believe it's time for us to be off as well. We need to get some well-deserved shut-eye after what we've been through over the past few days."

"Aw Bogg…Do we have to leave now?"

"Yep, kid. Besides, it's way past your bedtime and mine as well."

"Bogg, it's just nine-thirty. It's still early."

"I know kid, but we need to get our rest. Especially since there's lots of stuff out there that needs to be fixed and a ton of people depending on us. We have to be in tip-top shape before we begin our next mission."

"O-K" Jeff relented. "If you say so."

"Yes I said so. Now come on…" Bogg said as he picked up his partner, threw him over his shoulder and headed to the exit.

---- THE END ----


End file.
